Eye of the Storm
by Robbie the Phoenix
Summary: AU, Sequel to Heart of Gold. Following Sam and Haley’s wedding, the two hunters find their wedded bliss, not to mention there honeymoon, interrupted when John calls, telling them he’s closing in on the demon again. Full Summary Inside.
1. Prologue: Love, Honour and Cherish

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: By this time, you surely all know that I do… not own Supernatural. But Haley is all mine, haha. I'll stop that now.

**Author's Note**: This is what you've all been waiting for, right? The next part of the Heart of Gold series? Well, here it is. I have no idea how wedding ceremonies go, so you'll have to excuse me if it's wrong.

**Full Summary**: Following Sam and Haley's wedding, the two hunters find their wedded bliss (not to mention there honeymoon) interrupted when John calls, telling them he's closing in on the demon again. And this time, he knows where it's going to attack next. So Sam and Haley are once again pulled into the hunt, meeting some old friends and some new ones, leading up to another confrontation with the demon that's haunted them for the past twenty-three years. And amidst all this, Haley continues to try and decipher the meaning of the Heart of Gold prophecy.

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Prologue: Love, Honour and Cherish

"_Haley, these last few months without you… they've been a hell I can't begin to describe, and never wish to return to," he said, and then realized that may not have been the best way to start. "You are… well, you're beautiful, you're smart, oh, you know what, I suck at these speech things," Sam said, and Haley gave a small chuckle. "Haley Evans, I come to you, a man, nothing less, and definitely nothing more, with no ring to speak of and wearing only a sheet, and ask for you to be my wife." Haley looked down at him, tears welling up on the edge of her eyes. For just a fleeting second, Sam's defence mechanism shot warnings when he thought she was, after all this, going to refuse him. But then she smiled, and was nodding vigorously, tears of overwhelming happiness flowing freely from her eyes._

"_Yes…" she said. "Yes, yes, and a thousand times more yes." She leaned down and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Now stand up, I can't stand to be taller than you for another second." With a feeling of unexplainable joy and a smile that could've lit up the dankest, darkest hole in the ground, Sam wrapped his arms around her waist, and lifted her off the ground as he got to his feet._

"_I love you, you know that?" he said._

"_Would you have… loved me… any… less if I'd… said no?" she asked, and Sam could only just make out what she was saying with her lips pressed against his in a deep, intimate, passionate kiss._

"_Maybe… just a little," Sam said with a smile to show he was joking, and Haley smiled too._

"_I wouldn't expect anything less," she said. Then she put all her weight against him and pushed him back down across the bed, a broad smile on her face and pure joy in her eyes. There was still so much to deal with, so much darkness in their lives. But darkness and evil was for Monday mornings. Right now, there was just Haley and Sam, too exhausted to do anything but hold each other, lips gently caressing each other, enjoying each other's company._

_Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a Monday morning. But until then…_

Three Months Later

"If I hear the words 'Where should this go' one more time I am going to get physical!" Haley declared, as a man not much older then herself came up with yet another platter of food. The young man quickly turned around and dashed over towards Dean, who was also seeing over the preparations. Sam and Haley's decision to get married before the baby was born meant they had had to shift into high gear so that Haley could actually fit into her wedding dress, and that meant they had had to rush some things, and they were falling slightly behind schedule.

"Yeah, just put that over there for now, we'll deal with it later." Dean said, shooing away the young man. "Haley, would you mind being a little less… emotional?" He called over. Haley turned a venomous glare onto him.

"Dean, I am pregnant, I am hormonal, and I am getting married in less then three hours." She said. "And to top it all off I'm an empath. Put that all together and I assure you, I have every right to feel emotional."

"Yeah, but all this stress can't be good for my future niece." Dean said. Haley sighed and took in a deep, calming, overly-exaggerated breath, and let it out. Dean gave her a pointed look, and she did it again, and again, until finally Dean was satisfied she was calmed down again. She looked up and down the long beach where the wedding was taking place, and couldn't help but smile as she thought about what she was going to be doing in just over five hours, all thoughts of the stress instantly vanishing in favour of the thought of walking down the aisle to meet Sam.

Her smile turned to a look of horror when she saw someone coming towards the beach from the parking lot, and she quickly ducked behind a table.

"Haley, wha-?" Dean began.

"Sam, get your ass off this beach!" Haley shouted. Sam froze, looking up and down the beach, trying to find where Haley's voice had come from. "Its bad luck to see the bride on the wedding day!" She added. Sam rolled his eyes with a grin.

"Come on, Haley, you don't really believe-"

"Sam, after all we've seen over the years, I am not going to risk it." She called. "Oh, screw it; I need to go get ready anyway. Dean, go cover his eyes."

"What?" Sam and Dean said at the same time, disbelief evident in both their voices.

"Well, I'm sorry, _honey_, but I don't trust you not to peek while I'm leaving." Haley stated. "Dean!"

"Alright, alright." Dean walked over and put a hand over his brother's eyes. "Safe." He called to Haley. Sam rolled his eyes under Dean's hand while he waited for Haley to leave. Although he couldn't blame Haley for being a little paranoid, considering their track record when it came to legends and superstitions, it didn't make it any less annoying.

"Is she gone yet?" Sam asked. A moment of silence and then Dean lifted his hand.

"Yeah, she's gone… in my car." He added. "She better not scratch it." He added as he walked away to help settle some dispute about the flower arrangement at the archway where Sam and Haley would meet to exchange their vows.

Sam sighed happily, the reality of what he was planning to do only just sinking in. He was getting married. Of all the things he thought he'd d be doing after being pulled back into hunting by his brother, getting married had not been one of them. And now, here he was. Just hours away from marrying the woman he'd fallen in love with.

* * *

Haley was standing in front of the mirror. She had come here to start getting ready, but as soon as she'd stepped in front of the mirror to start undressing, her eyes had caught sight of the slight bulge under her blouse, and she'd lifted it only up to her chest so that she could admire the little girl growing inside of her. 

"She's going to be beautiful." Haley jumped and spun around to see Missouri standing in the doorway. Her surprise became relief when she saw the old woman.

"Yeah… I can just imagine." She said, turning back to the mirror. "I can't wait 'till she starts moving." She said. She stroked her belly gently. "I can feel her, sometimes, if I relax enough, and isolated enough from everyone else. She's so… so…" She trailed off. There wasn't really a word to describe the feeling Haley got when she sensed the small life growing inside her. "How long til the wedding starts?" She asked suddenly, wondering how long she'd been standing there. "I haven't even gotten dressed yet. What if I-"

"Haley, calm down, you still have three hours." Missouri said, placing her hands on Haley's shoulder. "You have plenty of time to get ready." She reassured the younger woman. Haley nodded, taking a few deep breaths.

"Right… six hours… plenty of… oh, god…" She rushed passed Missouri into the bathroom, and a few moments later, a series of unpleasant sounds could be heard coming from the bathroom.

"You okay in there?" Missouri called after a minute.

"Define okay." Haley called back. The door opened a moment later and the younger woman stepped out, look a little disgruntled. "This baby is good in all but the effects she's having on my bodily functions." She stated. "I had better not feel this way when I'm walking down the aisle." She said, and then looked down at her stomach. "You hear that? No morning sickness at the wedding. Mummy wants her wedding to be as perfect as possible, and she can't do that if she's throwing up all over the groom."

Missouri smiled at Haley, who was so caught up talking to her unborn baby to even notice the older woman.

After a little over a minute, Haley stopped talking to the baby and turned her attention back to Missouri. "This is right, right?" She asked. "Marrying Sam. I mean, it just seems so… unreal. I don't know if I can-"

"Do I have to slap you?" Missouri asked. Missouri being the only one with a temper that rivalled Haley's. "Of course this is the right thing to do. You and Sam are in love. You're having a baby, Sam's baby. If those two aren't reason enough to get married, then look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself that question again."

Haley glanced at the mirror, and smiled. "Okay." She said simply. She turned back to Missouri, and her smile went from acceptance to pure joy. "I'm getting married!" She exclaimed, the happiness and excitement evident in her voice. Missouri simply smiled at her, pleased to see the younger woman so happy. So different to the angry youth that had visited her all those years ago after being sent after Sam and Dean by John. No, she had definitely matured a lot since then.

"Where the hell is John?" She demanded. "I swear, if that man isn't here by the time the wedding starts, I will personally track him down and… oh, bad thoughts." She turned and ran back into the bathroom.

Okay, so maybe not so much, but definitely more woman than girl now. The temper, though, well, that would probably stay with her the rest of her life.

"False alarm." Haley called, walking back out. "Just a burp, thankfully. Can't be too careful, how much longer is this supposed to last?" She added, barely taking a breath.

"Oh, sometimes morning sickness can last the entire pregnancy." Missouri said in a cheerful voice. Haley's eyes went wide as saucers, and Missouri chuckled. "I think you're in for a rough three months." Haley looked absolutely horrified. "But don't worry," Missouri continued with a smile, "Your… husband… is going to be with you every step of the way." Slowly, ever so slowly, Haley's look of horror turned back to one of happiness, and now anticipation.

* * *

Sam kept glancing nervously at his watch where he was standing at the end of the long red carpet laid out on a low platform in the sand, which would be serving as the 'aisle' Haley was going to be walking down. Pastor Jim was standing behind him, and Dean was beside him. Any minute now, Haley was going to come out of the tent they set up for her to wait in. But she wasn't the reason his nervous. At least, not entirely. 

"Where is he?" He asked his brother anxiously, looking over the few guests that were seated on either side of the platform. "He promised he'd be here-"

"And he's gonna be." Dean assured Sam. "He's just… you know… being held up."

"If he's gone out hunting something, I'll…" He frowned. "I don't normally agree with Haley's… temper tantrums… but if he isn't here by the time she comes out of that tent, I'm going to-"

"There he is." Dean said, pointing up the small hill to the parking lot where John Winchester had parked his truck and was now walking down to the beach to take a seat with the other guests. He was clean-shaven, and dressed in formalwear Dean had helped him buy a few days earlier. Sam finally relaxed. Everyone was there.

And then the music started. They didn't have a band of any sort, just a CD player running on batteries. But as far Sam was concerned, the wedding would've been perfect with or without music, rain, hail or shine, at the beach, in a church, or in a rundown old shack. As long as Haley was there and they exchanged their vows and rings, it would be perfect.

And seeing Haley as she walked slowly out of the tent only served to strengthen that belief. Her dress had been hand made specifically to fit her growing stomach, and reached just short of her ankles, with no sleeves and a low, circular neck. There was a strand of diamonds hanging, tightly yet comfortably, around her neck, and another strand woven through her blonde hair, catching the sunlight like a bright halo around her head. In her hands was a bouquet of pale-pink roses, hand-tied with a long white ribbon wrapped in an intricate pattern around the stems.

Sam felt as though he was falling in love with her all over again, without all the problems that had first occurred. He smiled broadly as she approached, and she returned it whole heartedly, coming to her place and standing opposite him, with Pastor Jim stand between them and back a bit.

"Friends, we are gathered here today to share with Sam and Haley the most important time in their lives." He said. "At this point, I would normally ask if anyone present had a just cause for these two not to be married," Jim continued, "However, most of you would know how much trouble Sam and Haley have had just getting here, so we've decided to skip that part altogether."

There was a chorus of chuckles from the small gathering of people in front of them. When it died down, Jim continued. "Who here is giving this woman to be joined with this man?" He asked.

"I am." Missouri said from behind Haley, having been chosen for the role of Maid of Honour, Bridesmaid and 'Father' of the Bride. Jim nodded.

Sam was so caught up and basking in Haley's beauty that he almost wasn't ready to speak his vows. But as soon as Pastor Jim said the word, he was ready as if he'd spent his life waiting to say them.

He smiled happily at Haley, and for a moment was afraid he'd forgotten the vows he'd spent days and days working so hard to perfect. But as he started, the words started to flow, memory returning.

"Haley." He said. "When we first met, I couldn't wait to be rid of you." Another small chorus of chuckles. Haley and Dean both joined in at that. "Now, standing with you today, I can't imagine my life without you. You are my light, to shine for me when I'm fading. My love for you is everlasting; until eternity breaks, I will be yours in mind, body and soul. I promise to love, honour and cherish you, from this day forward, until the end of all things." And with that, he took the ring Dean held out to him, and slid it onto the ring finger of Haley's right hand.

And then Jim turned to Haley, and she knew it was her turn. She felt Sam's love washing over her like a river, calm and clear and yet with such power and strength it seemed like it should be overwhelming. But it wasn't. Love could never overwhelm her.

"Sam, because of you, I know what true love is." She said, blinking back tears of joy. She was finally here, finally saying it. "When I was lost, your love was a beacon that guided me to you. Through all the darkness and losses in my life, you've been there, your love, as constant and as steady as the beat of my heart. I promise to love, honour and cherish you; your heart; your soul. From this day forward," She took the ring and slid it onto the ring finger of Sam's right hand, "Death itself cannot stop my love for you." Sam smiled, his eyes shining just as Haley's were.

"Sam Winchester and Haley Evans," Pastor Jim said with a smile, "I now pronounce you husband and wife…" And whatever else he said was lost to the two people standing in front of him. They heard him just enough to know they were allowed to kiss, and then they had their arms wrapped around each other, their kiss filled with love and passion. It was done. They were married.

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A/N: And that's the beginning of yet another of my fanfics. Hope y'all enjoyed this, it was really hard to write. Also, updates may not be as frequent as they were, on account of me trying to get a life. Well, until next time, Cyas. 


	2. The Honeymoon's Over

**Eye of the Storm**

**Beta'd by mysterychic. Many thanks.**

**Disclaimer**: Hmmm… I'm thinking no, I don't own it. Stares at Haley She's mine though. Well, she's Sam's, but I made her, and… (unimportant babbling follows).

**Author's Note**: Anyone miss me? Sorry it took so long, this has got to be the hardest chapter I've ever had to write (and I have no idea why, I just couldn't get it to flow). But now I'm back, though I have no idea how frequent my updates will be. Anyway, on with the story.

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Chapter 1: The Honeymoon's Over

Sam smiled joyfully as he trailed his hand over Haley's breasts and stomach, enjoying the barely contained giggles coming from Haley every time he came to one of the many ticklish spots Haley was cursed with.

They were in the Honeymoon Suite of the beachside hotel they were staying at for the remainder of their honeymoon, which, if all went well, would be at least another week. They'd already been there five days, enjoying the beach and the room service and each other's company. They'd both conveniently forgotten their mobiles before leaving for the hotel, so the only way they were going to be interrupted was if someone came to talk to them face-to-face. Considering the fact they had kept the location of their honeymoon a secret, it seemed very unlikely.

Lying sprawled out on the king-sized bed beside his wife (it still made him feel funny inside to think of Haley as that; funny and giddy), both of them completely naked, Sam continued to smile as he found a particularly ticklish part of Haley's body. Laughter filled the room (Haley's and Sam's) for a good minute or so.

"Wait, wait." Haley said, holding up her hand. Sam stopped, frowning. Haley lay still for a minute, and then a smile reached her lips. "She moved." She exclaimed.

"What-?" Sam began, taking a minute to understand what Haley meant.

"The baby, she moved, I felt her move." She said, taking Sam's hand and putting it where she'd felt the movement. They waited anxiously for a few minutes, and Haley let out a disappointed sigh when nothing more happened. "I hope nothing's wrong." She said, sitting up.

"What?" Sam asked, immediately feeling uneasy. "Wrong? Why would something be wrong? Did the doctor say something-?" Haley put a finger to his lips to stop him before he really started ranting.

"No, it's nothing like that, I just… I thought she'd have started to move earlier than this. The doctor said most start moving around the second trimester." Haley explained. "And I'm nearly into my third and she only just started." She frowned, and then noticed the worried look on Sam's face. She gave him a small smile. "I'm sure she's fine though." She assured him, but he still had a hint of worry in his eyes. "Hey, I think I'd be the first to know if something was wrong."

"Empathy?" Sam asked.

"That too." Haley said. "But I mean, come on, this baby is growing inside me. Wouldn't I be able to tell if something was wrong?" She asked. Sam frowned, obviously not sure if she would be able to. Haley sighed. "Let's not think about what could go wrong." She said. She smiled and laid her head back against the pillows, taking Sam's hand in hers. "I want to enjoy my honeymoon." She said. "I also want to enjoy my bodily functions while I'm still small enough to do it comfortably." Sam gave her a confused look and she rolled her eyes. "You, me, naked, bed, get the picture?" She asked, gesturing at the bed they were lying on. Sam bit his lip.

"Is it-"

"Yes." Haley cut across him. "I went on the internet a few weeks ago. It's perfectly safe for normal pregnancies. And yes, I checked with the doctor, and I fall into the category of normal pregnancy." She said, anticipating Sam's next question. "The baby will be perfectly safe. So long as I'm on top." She added. He raised an eyebrow. "Well _you _lying on top of _me _wouldn't exactly be pleasant for me or the baby." She said. He smiled at her, nodding, and then laid down flat on his back, and Haley took that as an invitation to get to it. She sat up and moved over to straddle his legs.

* * *

Every morning for the next four days, Sam would wake up and get up before Haley, waiting for room service to arrive with their breakfast. Every morning he'd have it laid out perfectly after it arrived and ready for Haley, who normally woke up within ten minutes or so after breakfast arrived. On the first morning, Haley had told him that his hunger had woken her up.

"It's like putting a vacuum to my bellybutton and hitting suction." She said. "Not exactly pleasant to wake up to." She'd stated.

So now he did his best to keep track of how hungry he was so as not to disturb her when she woke up. It didn't help much. Every time he saw the beautiful meals room service brought them for breakfast, he grew hungry enough to eat enough for two people. And that only upset Haley more, because she _was _eating for two people now.

"No eggs this morning?" Haley asked.

"No eggs." Sam confirmed.

"Good… the thought of the sloppy… golden… yolk… all dripping and… fluidy… and I want to…" She groaned. "Never mind, let's not go there." She said, climbing to her feet. "Let's go to the bathroom instead." And with that, she dashed passed Sam in the direction of the bathroom. Sam smiled and shook his head. Then a few seconds later he felt somewhat nauseous.

"Dammit, Haley, keep your symptoms to yourself." He said, rubbing his stomach. While the actual vomiting had ceased a few weeks after Sam and Haley had gotten back together, he still seemed to get the occasional feeling of nauseousness. He'd read up on it, and apparently there was nothing supernatural about it at all; some dads-to-be did share the symptoms of the expectant mother.

It was both a relief and annoying that it wasn't supernatural. A relief, because he wanted to keep his daughter away from as many supernatural influence's as possible, and annoying because if it was supernatural, then he was sure there would be something to be done to make it stop.

He was just setting the table for their breakfast, with Haley still retching in the bathroom, when a knock sounded at the door. Frowning, Sam left the table and opened the door.

A young man who no doubt worked at the hotel stood waiting for him.

"Can I help you?" Sam asked.

"Someone told me to give you this." The young man said, handing Sam a-

"Sorry, you must have the wrong person." He said, seeing his mobile phone in the young man's hand. He made to close the door.

"He told me you'd say that. He also said that… wait, he told me to be exact, uh…" The young man had a look of concentration on his face. "He said 'In case the hunt goes bad.' I think that was it anyway." Sam sighed, slouching against the doorframe.

"Okay, give it to me." He said. "How much did he pay you?"

"He didn't-"

"How much?" Sam demanded, feeling a little annoyed that his brother or father had somehow tracked him down.

"Fifty bucks." The young man said.

"That's all I'm worth to him?" He muttered, closing the door in the face of the surprised young man. "Haley, we've been found." He called as he returned to the table. He heard the sound of the toilet flushing.

"What!" Came the shocked voice of his wife. His wife… He shook his head; he couldn't get sidetracked from being angry. This was supposed to be his honeymoon, what right did they have to intrude on his two weeks of pure wedded bliss?

"Someone, I'm guessing either Dean or Dad, had my mobile delivered." He said. "'In case the hunt goes wrong' according to the guy who delivered it. They probably went out on some lame-ass hunt and expect me to come save them if something goes wrong." He said, shaking his head and tossing the mobile onto the bed.

"Don't you mean 'us'?" Haley asked, coming out of the bathroom.

"No, I mean 'me'." Sam said, a little forcefully. Haley opened her mouth to argue, but Sam continued. "I don't want anything to happen to you or the baby, and if a hunt becomes dangerous enough for Dean or Dad to need my help, then it's too dangerous for you too be there."

"Sam, I'm pregnant, I'm not an invalid. I can take care of myself _and _the baby." She said, putting her hand on her hips and narrowing her eyes at him. Despite the fact that she was abouta footshorter then him, it was amazing just how intimidating she could make herself seem, against all _three_ Winchester men.

"But what if you can't?" Sam asked. Haley blinked.

"What do you-?"

"What if you can't protect yourself?" He asked. "What if something happens to you? Or the baby?" Haley just stared at him, and he bit his lip.

"Nothing- _nothing_- is going to happen." She said forcefully. "Not to me, and definitely not to the baby." She gave him a half smile. "I'm not as helpless as I look." She added, and Sam couldn't help but smile at that. "Now, I'll hear no more of Dean or John or hunting, at least until after breakfast." She said, and the tone of her voice left no room for argument. She glanced at the half-set table and the food they'd ordered for breakfast. "You want to finish setting up?" She asked in an expectant voice. Shaking his head in amusement, Sam set about finishing the preparations for their breakfast.

* * *

When Sam woke up the next morning, he was shocked to find that he, for once, had been the one who slept in, seeing Haley just setting up breakfast. He smiled, sitting up and watching her.

She looked up from the table, and turned around. "I thought I'd get breakfast for you for once." She said with an affectionate smile.

"Oh, but I so love getting _your_ breakfast." Sam said. Haley walked over to him, her smile becoming a little more playful, and she took his head in her hands, planting a kiss on his lips. He smiled and reached forward, wrapping his arms around her chest and returning the kiss. When they finally pulled apart, he was grinning from ear to ear. "Okay, I surrender." He said, leaning back against the bed head with a playful smile of his own. "You go ahead and get my breakfast for me." Haley arched an eyebrow, but her smile didn't fade, and she returned to the table to finish setting up the breakfast they'd gotten today.

They were about halfway through breakfast when the mobile rang. Both Sam and Haley tightened their grips on the knives they were using to cut their bacon, but neither of them got up to answer the phone, ignoring it and continuing with there breakfast.

It stopped ringing after a few minutes, and Sam and Haley relaxed. Only to tense up again as soon as it started ringing again. Sam gave it the chance to stop, but finally slammed his knife and fork down on the table, got to his feet, and went over and answered the phone.

"This had better be important." He snapped into the phone.

"_It is._" John's voice came from the other end of the line.

"I take it you were the one who sent us the phone." Sam said.

"_Shut up and listen Sam._" John sounded uneasy, so Sam did as he was told. "_I found it._" Now Sam was definitely listening.

"Where?" He asked. Haley looked up from her breakfast, knowing there could only be one reason why Sam sounded both excited, reluctant and concerned all at the same time.

"I can't tell you right now." John said, and a muscle in Sam's jaw twitched. "But I can tell you that it knows I'm closing in again. I'vespoken to Dean. I need you to get to him as soon as you can."

"O-okay." Sam said, suddenly wondering how much danger his father was in. "Where should I-" The line went dead before he could finish. "Damn it." He said, dropping the mobile onto the bed.

"Has he found it?" Haley asked, and Sam turned to look at her, nodding slowly.

"He didn't say where he is though." Sam said. "He just said we need to find Dean…" He sighed, giving Haley a somewhat put off look. "I guess we'll have to cut this short." He said, disappointment evident in his voice. Haley sighed, dropping his knife and fork and getting to her feet.

"Well, look at it this way; we had almost a week an a half." She said. "That's the longest vacation from hunting I've had since… well, since I started." She smiled. "And you can't tell me it wasn't fun while it lasted, with the room service and the sex and the steam shower and-"

"Okay, point taken." Sam said, smiling and leaning down, kissing Haley on the lips. "We've had a great time, and I'm glad. I just wish it didn't have to end so soon." He said.

"Well… the sex doesn't have to end." She said, taking a step towards him. Sam grinned and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hmmm… tempting." He said, sitting back down on the bed and letting Haley sit on his legs. "But maybe we should wait until…" Haley chose that moment to kiss him, putting one hand on the back of his head and placing the other on his shoulder. He welcomed the kiss for a minute, and then pulled back. "… after." He finished. Haley looked disappointed, but not surprised, and stood up off his legs.

"No problem." She said. "It just means you'll enjoy it all the more when it finally happens." She stepped back, a teasing smile on her lips as she returned to her breakfast.

"Is that a promise?" Sam asked, also getting to his feet. Haley simply shrugged, and took a bite of bacon. Sam joined her, finishing his breakfast, and then they began packing up. When that was done (they hadn't brought much), they decided to take one last steam shower together before they left.

By ten o'clock, they were ready, and also disappointed, to leave. They turned around in the parking lot to take one last look at the hotel.

"So long, honeymoon." Sam said, and then turned around so that his back was turned to the hotel. "Hello life." He said in a mock-cheerful tone.

"It's not that bad, it's just…" Haley struggled to find the words that could sum up their life. Apparently, there were none. She just gave him a reassuring smile to cover up her inability to describe their life. "_We_'re going to be just fine." She emphasized the 'we' to make sure Sam understood she was not going to be left out of this. Sam just grinned, and kissed her.

"Okay, I give, you can come." He said. "Like you even need my permission." He added, and she grinned as well. Sam pulled out his phone and dialled Dean's number; one downside to the two of them trying to avoid notice by Dean and John was that a car would be too obvious a clue, even with their skills in covering up their tracks.

"_Daniel Worthington speaking._" Dean answered.

"Mr. Worthington? Your car's been involved in a hit and run accident." Sam said in a deep voice.

"_What!_" Dean yelled. "_Someone stole my baby?_"

"No, someone hit it with a semi and then drove off before the police could arrive." Sam said, trying very hard not to laugh.

"_Wait, Sam, is that you?_" Dean asked.

"Yeah, it's me." Sam said, letting himself laugh now.

"_So my car's safe, right?_" Sam heard shuffling on the other end of the line, like Dean was moving, and then the sound of curtains being separated, followed by a sigh of relief. "_You're a cruel bastard, you know that?_"

"Hey, I'm the one who had his honeymoon cut short." Sam said.

"_Ah, yes, how is the new Mrs. Winchester?_" Dean asked. Sam glanced at Haley, who was fiddling with the belt on her jeans.

"Suffering the nuisances of having an ever expanding belly." Sam said. Haley shot him a look, and returned to loosening her belt. "And looking ready to commit murder. Has Dad really found the demon?" He asked.

"_Don't know, he just told me he'd call once the three of us are back together._" Dean said.

"Well, it's a step up from text-messaging coordinates, I'll give him that much." Sam said. "How will he know when we're back together?"

"_Didn't say._" Dean answered.

"Well, we'll worry about that when he calls." Sam said. "Haley and I need a ride."

"_Sneaking off in the dead of night for you honeymoon have some drawbacks?_" Dean asked in an amused voice.

"Just come pick us up." Sam said. "We're at the Sea Side Hotel."

"_Of course you are, the one place Dad told me he'd already checked._" Dean said. "_Okay, I'll be there in ten._" And with that, Dean cut the connection. Sam laughed, shaking his head and sliding his phone into the back pocket of his jeans.

"I think Dad was actually on my side for once." He said.

"What?" The shock was evident in Haley voice.

"He told Dean he'd already checked here," Sam explained. "I guess Dean assumed that meant we weren't here." Haley chuckled at that, but went on loosening her belt. "Baby giving you a hard time?" Sam asked with a grin.

"No, just reminding me she's there." Haley said, finally finding the right hole. Then suddenly she grabbed Sam's hand and placed it on her belly. They both waited expectantly for a few minutes.

"She was kicking, I felt her." Haley said.

"No need to rub it in." Sam said, and grinned at her to show he was joking. But he did feel a little disappointed. He sighed and pulled his hand back. "Maybe next time." He said. Haley nodded, frowning. She opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment Dean drove into the parking lot. She turned and smiled at Sam, and then walked over to where Dean was parking the car.

Dean climbed out of the car as the two newlyweds approached, and flashed Haley a cocky grin. "Does the brother-in-law get a kiss?" He asked. Sam snorted.

"What happened to no chick-flick moments, Dean?" He asked.

"Who said anything about chick-flick moments?" Dean asked, turning his grin on Sam. "I just want to kiss from my brother's wife." Sam rolled his eyes, and then his mouth fell open when Haley grabbed Dean by the front of his shirt and slammed their lips together.

He stood there for a minute, while his brother and his wife exchanged tongues, and then he pulled Haley away from Dean before _they _exchanged wedding vows.

"I'm not normally the jealous type, but one more second of that and I would've had to punch him." He said. Haley grinned up at him.

"It was a once-of thing." She said, and turned a grin of her own in Dean's direction. "I was just giving him a taste of what he's never going to get." Sam couldn't help but smile, even though less then a minute earlier Haley, his wife (it still felt weird thinking of her like that) had been making out with his brother.

"Prove it." He said. Without hesitating, Haley wrapped her arms around Sam's chest and pressed her lips to his.

"Okay, I only tolerate kisses like that when I'm the one giving them." Dean said, pulling the two of them apart (with some difficulty) barely ten seconds later. "Both of you, in the car, now." He made such a good impression of John Winchester that neither Sam nor Haley were in any hurry to argue. Sam raised an eyebrow, but nothing more.

Dean just grinned as they separated, Haley taking the front seat (and pulling on her seat belt with only some difficulty), while Sam took the back seat, much to both their disappointment. Dean, of course, took the driver's seat. Haley glanced at Sam in the rear view mirror, and grinned. Even if Sam wasn't particularly thrilled about the life they'd been forced into, for Haley, hunting was as much a part of her life as Sam and Dean were, and it felt good to be getting back into it. Even if Dean and Sam were going to treat her like she was made of porcelain, and there was no doubt in her mind that they would.

"Hello life." She whispered with a grin.


	3. Old Friends and New Ones

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Supernatural in any way. I do own Haley Winchester and Laura Whitman.

**Author's Note**: My knowledge on cars is extremely lacking. I'm choosing car for the characters by looking up movies and series' in the IMCDB (Internet Movie Car Database), and choosing them from there. Hope it all goes okay.

**

* * *

**

Chapter 2: Old Friends and New Ones

Dean brought them back to the motel room he'd been staying at, where an argument quickly ensued over who got stuck sleeping on the couch. There were only two singles beds, and it was obvious to Sam and Dean that Haley would get one of them (Haley had no say in the matter), so all that was left was for them to figure out who got the other bed.

In the end, Dean won the argument, only because he got Sam in a headlock and Haley was conveniently too tired to interfere.

As it turned out, though, the argument was meaningless, as not five minutes after Sam and Dean had gone to separate ends of the room, Dean to lick his wounds and Sam to pick up the broken remains of his dignity, Dean's phone rang.

"Dean Winchester's phone," Haley said, answering it before Sam or Dean could make it to the middle of the room. "He's currently unavailable, can I take a message?"

"_Haley, that you?_" A familiar voice asked.

"John." Haley said, her smile faltering ever so slightly. "Here's Dean." She said, tossing the phone in Dean's general direction. The older Winchester caught it, just, being careful not to hit any buttons as he did so.

"Dad?" He said.

"_Yeah._" John said. "_Missouri told me to give you and Sam some time to catch up, or I'd have called sooner._"

"You've been talking to Missouri?" Dean asked.

"_I'm at Missouri's._" John answered. "_In Lawrence._"

"Oh." Dean said, sitting down on the end of his bed. Sam and Haley both looked up from what they were doing.

"_I need you to come here. You and Sam and Haley._" He said. "_And quickly. It knows I'm closing in on it, and I… I think it's getting ready to retaliate._" The tone John spoke in was one Dean rarely heard, only when he was talking about Mary, or if he thought Sam or Dean were in actual danger. It was his family tone. Well, the bad version of the family tone.

"Okay, it's gonna take us at least three days to get there, so-"

"_Make it two._" John said.

"Yes, sir." Dean said automatically. "I'll see you then." He cut the connection.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"We have to leave." Dean said. "Now."

"What?" Haley asked, getting to her feet.

"Dad says he thinks the demon's planning something." Dean said, already collecting his stuff from around the room. "He's worried. I could hear it in his voice." That got both Sam and Haley moving. It took a lot to worry John Winchester enough for someone to hear it in his voice.

They barely had a chance to start packing up before the motel room door was kicked down. A man stepped in the room, smiling darkly as he glanced at the three occupants in turn.

"Well, I gotta say, this is disappointing." He said.

"'Disappointing'?" Dean echoed. "'_Disappointing_'?"

"Yeah," The man blinked, and when his eyes opened again, they were both charcoal-black. "After everything I heard about you Winchester's, I expected you to be at least one step ahead of me. And yet here I find you, a step behind me."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw a flash of steel in Dean's hand. The demon obviously saw it as well. He jerked his hand to the side and Dean was thrown across the room, crashing into one of the chairs at the table and hitting the ground, hard.

"Argh!" Haley cried out in pain, staggering backwards, hands on her stomach. The demon turned to her, in time to see a look of fear mixed in with pain in Haley's eyes, then anger and desperation, and the next instant he was lifted off the floor as Dean had been, only he wasn't lucky enough to crash onto a chair; he was thrown straight at the window.

"Haley." Sam cried as she fell backwards. He caught her before she hit the ground. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, Sam, I'm fine," Dean said irritably, getting shakily to his feet. "Probably just a broken collar bone, maybe a cracked rib or two, nothing too drastic." He swayed unsteadily, and managed to steady himself on the table.

"I'm fine." Haley said. She closed her eyes for a minute, and breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought… I felt Dean's pain. And I thought… I was afraid that…" She glanced at the broken window. "Did I do that?" She asked. Sam nodded.

"It won't stop him." Dean said. "Meg fell seven stories out of a window and she got up and walked away. I doubt being thrown out of a ground floor window is going to stop him." Haley nodded her agreement. "You're going to have to drive." Dean said to Sam. The younger Winchester nodded, helped Haley back to her feet, letting her lean on him for support, and then walked over to Dean, offering his other shoulder, since as far as they knew, Haley was just feeling what Dean was feeling at the moment, only less. If that was the case, Haley was either milking it for all it was worth (which was debatable) or Dean was just being Dean and pretending he wasn't in any pain at all. Sam was inclined to go with the latter.

Dean ignored Sam's offer of help, confirming Sam's suspicion, and limped out of the room on his own, picking up his duffle bag as he went. Sam grabbed both his and Haley's packs, and followed Dean outside.

* * *

The drive to Lawrence was reasonably uneventful, unless you counted Dean's constant complaints because he was stuck in the back. It was a unanimous decision made by Sam and Haley, who came to the conclusion that, being injured, Dean should be in the back seat where he could stretch out.

With Sam driving them, it took them a little longer then it would have with Dean driving, but Sam continued to remind Dean that it had been his decision to let Sam drive, every time Dean complained about how long it was taking them.

With Haley sleeping (not to mention _snoring_) for most of the trip, and Dean sitting silently on the back seat recovering from being dropped on a chair, Sam had plenty of time to think.

He thought about what had happened back at the motel room. One minute, everything had seemed perfectly normal- well, as perfectly normal as it could seem when they were being threatened by a demon- and the next, Haley seemed to become a completely different person. It was just for a split second, barely noticeable, but in those few milliseconds, when Haley had reacted to the pain her empathy had brought into her from Dean and thrown the demon out the window, Sam was sure he'd seen the other Haley, the one he'd seen in his dream back when Haley had been possessed by the psi-vamp.

Neither he nor Haley had had much luck with their gifts. Until the confrontation, neither of them had been able to move things telekinetically; Sam hadn't had a vision since he'd seen Haley in her house when the demon had killed her mother; and Haley's empathy was as uncontrollable as ever.

Another thing he was wondering about was Dean's gift. Whatever it was he'd done to Haley, it had taken almost two weeks for the burns to heal. And since then, he hadn't been able to do it again, not even against a vampire they'd fought a few weeks after Haley had joined them again, even when it had been an inch from taking a fair-sized bite out of Sam's neck.

Haley shifted in her sleep, and Sam glanced at her, keeping one eye on the road. He smiled, relaxing a little as he thought about the family he had always wanted, the one that was beginning with the small life growing inside of Haley. The very idea that he was going to be a father to a baby girl… well, it made him feel warm and tingly inside.

He reached over with one hand and laid it gently on Haley's stomach; the road went on for miles up ahead; there was no chance he could have no preparation if he saw someone or something up ahead.

A moment later, he felt Haley's hand slide under his, holding on loosely. His smile broadened, especially when he saw Dean finally asleep on the back seat, which meant he'd finally be getting some peace and quiet, for a little while at least.

* * *

They arrived in Lawrence about two and a half days after John called them at the motel. Dean had mostly recovered from the injuries inflicted by the chair by the second day, so he did most of the driving after that, with Sam sitting in the back now (Haley seemed to have no choice in the matter; she was in the front passenger seat and that was the way it was).

There were three other cars parked outside of Missouri's house, not counting John's truck. Sam and Dean exchanged a look as they got out of the car. Haley zeroed in on one particular car, a black BMW.

"Something wrong?" Sam asked. Haley blinked, and looked over at him.

"No," She said. "That car just looks… familiar, but I can't remember where I've seen it." Sam frowned, but Haley merely shrugged.

"Oh well, I guess I'll find out when we get inside." She said. Sam nodded, taking Haley's hand in his. Dean rolled his eyes and took the lead, walking up the driveway to the front door, with Haley and Sam walking hand-in-hand behind him.

They reached the front door, and then Dean stopped, glancing over his shoulder at Haley. "Anything we should know?" He asked. Haley bit her lip, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she tried to reach out empathically towards the house.

After a minute, she shook her head. "If there's something in there, I can't sense it." She said. "But that's not much to go on." She added irritably, knowing full well she had no real control over her empathy. Dean nodded, and, after a minute, opened the front door, coming into the waiting room of Missouri's house/psychic lounge (or whatever it was).

"Uh… should we wait for her to greet us or…?" He trailed off, looking over at the other two hunters. Sam merely shrugged.

"Sam, Dean?" The two brothers looked up at their father's voice. "Finally, I thought you'd never get here." John said. Sam would've been annoyed with how he greeted them if he hadn't known that was his father's way of expressing relief that they'd gotten there safely.

"We had a little… encounter back at the motel." Dean said. "But we dealt with it… well, Haley dealt with it." He admitted, giving Haley a smile. John nodded.

"Well, at least you got here in one piece." He said. "Come on through… there are a couple of people I want you to meet." He said, leading them into the living area of the house.

It was quite crowded compared to the last time Sam, Dean and Haley had been there. Of course, then it had only been Sam, Dean Haley and Missouri. Now there were five others standing or sitting around the room, Missouri not included.

Sitting on the couch beside Missouri was a woman in her early thirties, with lightly tanned skin and shoulder-length brown hair.

A middle-aged man with greying hair and dressed in a priest's garb sat in one of the chairs opposite the couch; Sam recognized him as Pastor Jim, though it'd been almost ten years since he'd last seen the man.

Standing over by the window was Caleb, a balding man who'd helped John out more then a few times over the past twenty-two years.

Bobby Singer, a man specializing in demonic possessions who'd once threatened to shoot John with his rifle, was sitting on the other chair with a mug of what Sam guessed was whiskey in his hand.

And over in the corner furthest from the door was man in his mid-to-late fifties whom Sam didn't recognize at all. But he seemed to recognize Sam; he was staring right at him with eyes full of wisdom way beyond his years.

"Sam, Dean, Haley, I'm sure you know Caleb, Jim and Bobby." John said, gesturing to each man in turn as he said their names. "But I don't think you've met Daniel Elkins." He said, nodding to the man in the corner. "Daniel, these are my son's, Dean and-"

"Sam." Elkins said, eyeing Sam strangely. John nodded, apparently not surprised by his friend's interruption.

"And this is Sam's wife, Haley." John said, gesturing to Haley. Elkins nodded at her. She smiled, a little nervously, and her grip on Sam's hand tightened. At that moment, the woman sitting beside Missouri cleared her throat. "And this is Jim's niece." John said, nodding towards the woman. "Dean, you may remember her." Dean barely acknowledged the woman with a nod, which didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. In fact, she seemed to prefer being ignored by him, getting to her feet and walking over to Sam and Haley.

"Laura Whitman." She said with a smile, holding out her hand. Haley smiled and took her hand.

A split second passed where something seemed to happen between the two of them. Haley felt something, the faintest flicker of life. And then the second passed, and Haley leaned over, taking in a few laboured breaths.

"Haley?" Sam said questioningly, concern in his voice.

"Are you okay" Laura asked. Haley smiled reassuringly at the two of them.

"I'm fine." She said. "Just a little tired; the baby's really taking it out of me these days." Sam put a reassuring arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him. "I just need my loving husband to show me to where we're… uh…" She turned to Missouri. "Where're we sleeping?" She asked. Missouri smiled.

"I put aside a room for you and Sam," She said.

"Yeah, made me sleep on the couch last night because of it." Bobby put in. Missouri rolled her eyes.

"Follow me." She said, leading Sam and Haley out of the room. Laura still looked worried as she watched the two of them leave.

"They'll be fine." Jim reassured her, suddenly by her side. She smiled at her uncle, and turned back to look at where Haley and Sam had gone. Dean glanced at her, shook his head, and followed his brother and sister-n-law out of the room.

* * *

**A/N: So,what did y'all think of that? I hope I described Elkins, Jim, Caleb and Bobby okay (seeing as they were already in the show). And what about Laura? What did y'all think of her. Please, review (I'm sure there are mor readers then reviewers - I know, broken record, but can ya blame me?).**


	4. Secrets Unspoken

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Supernatural in any way. I do own Haley Winchester and Laura Whitman.

**Review Answers**: Forgot the last few times. I will answer from now on. Sorry to anyone who didn't get answered.

_Spuffyshipper _– Thankyou. Here it is. Thankyou.

**Chapter 3**: Secrets Unspoken

Haley was resting peacefully almost from the minute her head hit the pillow. Sam would've been happy to just sit there and watch her while she slept, but got the feeling that if he didn't leave the room on his own, Missouri was going to pull him out by his ear. The fact that she didn't correct him when he thought that only strengthened his suspicions, so he left Haley without argument, returning to the living room with Missouri and Dean.

No one had really moved while they were gone, except Jim and Laura were now on the couch, and John was sitting in the chair Jim had occupied.

"So, what have we missed while we've been getting here?" Dean asked, choosing to stand beside his father rather then sit on the couch where Laura was. Sam, however, had no such problem, and took a seat beside her.

"Well, nothing much to tell the truth." John admitted.

"Except we know that the demons are picking us off one by one." Caleb said. "We were expecting at least four others to have joined us by now. We think the demons have already gotten to them. We were actually starting to get worried that they'd killed the three of you as well."

"Well, they tried." Sam said. Everyone turned their gaze on him, and he suddenly felt very self conscious. "One of them showed up at the motel." He said.

"And you survived?" Elkins asked, sounding doubtful.

"Haley threw him through a window." Sam said. Now Elkins looked interested, but Sam wasn't going to go into any more detail. In fact, he looked just about ready to get up and go back to Haley. A warning look from Missouri told him to stay put.

"Okay, so I think it's safe to say they're trying to kill us off one by one," John said. "The question is, who are they going after next?"

Everyone was silent. It wasn't really a question of who to warn, because anyone left who was worth going after was right there in the living room. It was more of a question of what to do: should they wait for the demons to realize they were all hiding out in the same place, or should they go and meet the demon's head on.

"I don't think all of us would need to go." Elkins said after a while. "These demons, they may be strong, but whoever they're going after; you can bet they'd only be prepared for that person."

"You're talking about, what? One or two _normal_ people alone against a _demon_." Caleb said. Elkins turned to look at the younger man. The look alone seemed enough to make him back off, though no one else saw it.

"Besides, they're not just strong." Sam said. "These demons are… telekinetic. Or something close to it… the one we fought…" He noticed a warning look from Dean just in time. "… used it to attack us." He left out the bit where Haley had done the exact same thing to fight it off.

"So we take away its power." Everyone turned to look at Bobby. "It's not as hard as you might think. There are… protective circles… that can be used to neutralize a demon. Get one inside one of those circles, it's trapped, completely powerless."

"But we're talking about a building, not a small circle; and you can bet the demons will be on the look out for something like that." Jim said.

"Well, I've been working on something." Bobby said. "Not as effective as the protective circles created in the olden days, but it should be enough to make the demon at least fightable."

The discussion became a lot more heated after that, mostly about just how reliable Bobby's new trick was and just who it was that would have to wait for the demon to come. They eventually came to the conclusion that it was Pastor Jim who would be the next target, so that meant he was definitely staying out of it. Then all that was left to decide was who would be going, and just how much of a chance there was that they'd be coming back.

-;-

Haley smiled when she heard the door open. She sat up, turning towards the door.

"So, how did the planning -" She looked around the room, seeing the open door but no Sam. No anybody for that matter. "- go." She finished, looking around the room. A shiver ran up her spine, and she felt the room temperature rise. Her breathing became more laboured as she got to her feet, with the intention of… well, she wasn't really sure what she intended to do, but leaving the room was a high priority on her list.

She'd barely taken three steps before she fell to her hands and knees, eyes wide and blank. And then her whole body swung backwards, as if hit by an invisible force, and she was sitting up against the bed. Her breathing became deeper, and a familiar feeling swept over her, a feeling of strong, formless emotion. No one in particular, it was just there. Like a figure without any features.

"_Haley!_" She gasped, hand reaching out to no one in particular. Except she had neither spoken her name nor moved her hand. Something else had.

Her whole body stiffened as she felt a wave of emotion wash over her. She closed her eyes, putting her hands to her head as she tried to fight it off; whatever it was, she didn't like it, and she didn't want it, especially if it was going to start speaking through her; that came a little too close to possession for Haley's liking.

When she opened her eyes again, she felt like screaming, or running, or doing something other then sitting there, frozen in terror.

As she stared, fire seemed to rise up from the floor, moving slowly towards her.

-;-

To say that they had discussed the best course of action like rational adults would be like saying a five-year-old had rid the world of demons. Not a chance.

It was mostly Elkins and Bobby who provided the fuel for the fire, both of them convinced that one man (or woman, as Laura pointed out) could fight off a demon if given the proper tools to do it with. John was open to suggestion, Laura seemed all for the idea, while Jim, Caleb and Missouri seemed dead-set against it. Dean was, as yet, undecided as to what could be done, and Sam seemed preoccupied with something else (that something was no doubt residing in another room).

All arguments ceased when Sam got to his feet, staring straight at the door that led to the room Haley was in. Several pairs of eyes locked onto him as he stood there, seemingly frozen.

"Sam?" Dean said softly, wondering what had caused his brother to suddenly… act the way he was.

Sam didn't give any sign that he had heard Dean. Truth be told, the only hint that he was anything more then a frozen statue was the periodic rise and fall of his chest as he stood, motionless, in front of the door.

"Haley." Was all he said; and then he was gone, racing through the doorway and down the hall to the room Missouri had set aside for he and Haley. Behind him, he thought he heard some of the others getting to their feet, but he ignored them.

When he came to the door to the room, he found it sealed shut, held that way by some unseen force.

"Haley!" He shouted, slamming his shoulder into the door in an attempt to dislodge it. He took a step back, and kicked it with all the strength he could muster.

The hinges sounded like they broke. But the door remained in place, not budging an inch no matter how many times he (and moments later, Dean) kicked or hit it.

-;-

"Haley!" She looked up at Sam's voice, taking her eyes off the fire for mere seconds. She wanted to call out to him, but something was making it all-but impossible to move any part of her body aside from her eyes.

"_Haley…_" The voice that seemed to come from the flames was weak and raspy, like whoever was speaking hadn't done so in a long time. Haley narrowed her eyes at the fire as it stopped moving along the floor, and the wave of emotions emanating from fire (well, the entity within the fire) dulled it's bombardment against her mind, for just a few seconds.

And then, like that had been the calm before the storm, a fierce, ear-splitting scream filled the room, and Haley through her head back as she felt like her head was going to explode, as much from the noise as from the sea of raw emotion she was drowning in.

And then the fire vanished in a final burst of combustive power, throwing Haley backward against the bed -

And then the door fell forwards, in two pieces, and Sam and Dean burst into the room, followed closely by Missouri and John. Sam was at Haley's side within a second of entering the room, cradling her in his arms.

"Haley. Haley? Wake up, come on, wake up." He whispered this over and over again. After almost half a minute, she groaned, and her eyes flickered open.

"Sam, please shut up." She said hoarsely, leaning up in his hold. Before she could make another move, he'd pulled into a tight (and somewhat uncomfortable) hug.

"I tried to get in to help you." He whispered. "I -"

"- Heard you." Haley said. She glanced over in the direction of Dean, John and Missouri (and behind them, possibly everyone else who was in the house), and then noticed the broken door on the floor. She smiled and turned back around to him. "Thank you." She said, kissing him fleetingly on the lips.

"What was it?" Everyone turned around. It had been Elkins who had spoken, and Sam turned a somewhat irritated glare on the older man.

"Give her a minute, she only just woke up." He snapped. Haley smiled gratefully as she leaned her head on his shoulder, facing away from everyone else. She really didn't feel up to talking about her experience right at that moment. Ever, actually, if she had a choice. It was doubtful she was going to have one though.

"I agree." Missouri said. "Everyone out, come on," She said, winking at Sam. He smiled gratefully at her as she shooed everyone out of the room, and then closed the door behind her, leaving Sam alone with Haley.

He helped her to her feet (something that was becoming increasingly difficult as of late, with her ever-growing belly), and led her back to the bed.

"Thanks." She said, as she lay back down. Sam sat down on the bed beside her, and she knew then that she wasn't going to get out of telling him what happened.

As if he reading her thoughts, he smiled down at her. "Think of it this way: If you tell me, I can tell every one else and you won't have to feel like you're being interrogated." She stared up at him, annoyed by the logic he presented, and feeling a sudden need to knock that smile off his face. She settled for a sigh of resignation and lay back against the pillows, relaxing as she tried to recall everything that had happened.

"I thought you were coming to bed." She said. "When I heard the door open. And I sat up to ask you …" She tried to remember. "… Something." She decided. "But you weren't there." She then went into a semi-detailed explanation of the feeling that had come over her when she'd tried to leave the room, something like being possessed, without the entity actually being in her body.

"Like what Heartsbane did to me?" Sam asked. Haley frowned, and shook her head.

"No," She said. "Heartsbane was making you think the things you were doing were what you wanted." She said. "This was… different. I knew it wasn't me. I think… I think it was trying to talk to me, and my empathy opened a door for it to come through." Sam bit his lip.

"Explain." He said.

"I said my name. And I moved, but it wasn't me doing it." She said. "It was like any normal empathic channel. It wasn't me doing it, it was…" She trailed off, unsure what to call whatever it was that had visited. "I was acting how it was acting. Or wanted to act. I think it knew I was empathic and was trying to communicate to me, through me, if that makes sense." Sam gave a small laugh.

"Yeah, in a strange sort of way." He said. He put his hands on her shoulder, smiling warmly at her. "Don't worry. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Haley rolled her eyes.

"I can take care of myself you know." She said, but she smiling lovingly back at him. "Thank you." She said after a minute. "Now come to bed. I don't want to sleep on my own again." She said it in such a way that there was no room for argument. Not that Sam wanted to. He climbed to his feet, stripped down to his boxers, and then climbed into bed beside Haley.

-;-

Missouri turned away from the door after a long minute, nodding at the group of hunters sitting around her living. "They're asleep." She said.

"Can I just say: I do not approve of discussing this without Sam and Haley?" Dean said.

"Duly noted." Laura droned.

"It has as much to do with them as any of us." Dean said. "More, probably."

"We know where you stand, Dean." John said. "However, if you would prefer to sit out of the meeting and therefore not have anything to relay to Sam and Haley when they get up tomorrow, by all means…" He gestured towards the door.

Dean made an irritated noise in the back of his throat, but sat down beside Bobby on the couch, crossing his arms. He wasn't really going to tell Sam and Haley anything. That was what angered him so much; that they were discussing Sam and Haley and he couldn't even tell them about it, because his father had ordered him not to. He really hated being the obedient son sometimes.

"You said you had some information about the demon," Elkins said to John, seemingly oblivious to Dean's previous statement.

"Yes." John said, glancing momentarily at Dean before continuing. "More to do with the people it goes after then anything else."

"Meaning Sam and Haley." Dean interrupted. Several pairs of eyes turned his way for a few seconds, before returning attention to John.

"Essentially, yes." He agreed. "It's about their gifts." That got everyone's attention. With the exception of Missouri, and possibly Pastor Jim, no one outside of the Winchester family knew about Sam and Haley's gifts, so this was news to almost everyone in the room. "I found something out… about the demon. About why it goes after the babies, like it did Sam and Haley."

"I thought we'd already figured that out." Dean said. "It feeds off their energy."

"Most of the time, yes." John said. "But what it does, you could call it a test. If the babies somehow survive to adulthood, like Sam and Haley did, the demon…" He paused. "About five percent of its minions aren't actual demons. They're humans possessed by demons. The people who survived it's attack when they were babies."

"Wait, are you saying… what I think you're saying?" Dean asked.

"The night Jessica- Sam's girlfriend-" He clarified for the people in the room who didn't know, "Was killed, the demon hadn't been after her. It had been trying to possess Sam itself."

"So, why didn't it, I mean, if an average demon can possess any of these… people," Elkin said, "Why couldn't this demon possess Sam?" John glanced at his old mentor for a moment before answering.

"I don't think it was powerful enough." He said finally. "Strong, it may be. But you have to remember, it's nothing more then a parasite now, and Sam…" He thought for a minute. "He isn't exactly your average psychic, either." So far, all the 'Gifted' (as John had come to call them) that John had heard about had only had one gift. It could've been anything from telekinesis, to mind reading, to visions, but it had only been one gift. Sam, so far, had displayed two gifts: visions, and telekinesis on two different occasions. Both of which, he'd learned, had been directly linked to Dean being in some kind of danger. Another supernatural quirk to his sons' relationship that he would've preferred not happened.

Elkins seemed a little… irritated, and leaned back in his chair. Missouri and Pastor Jim didn't look surprised; they'd already known most of what John had said. Laura seemed somewhat disturbed by the idea, while Caleb and Bobby were just sitting there, like they'd been expecting this.

Dean just sat there, not looking at all pleased, and John had a feeling why. He decided to continue before Dean could say anything that he'd regret.

"But just because the demon couldn't possess Sam… well, as I said, it's nothing more then a parasite now… and I think an 'average demon', as Daniel just called them, could possess him. And Haley for that matter. No matter how strong they are. So… be on the look out for any signs. Especially you Bobby." He added, knowing the other hunter could spot a possession a mile away.

Everyone was silent for a long minute. And then Dean got to his feet, heading for the door.

"Dean, don't you breathe a word of this to either of them." John ordered. Dean kept walking. "Dean." He repeated firmly, turning to face his son, he was determinedly not turning around to face him.

"Yes, sir." Dean said, and John noted the venom in his voice. John had seen Dean this way before, but only a couple of times. It happened every time following an order from John meant 'betraying' Sam, as Dean saw it. Thankfully, it never lasted long.

-;-

_Fire rose up from the ground in front of him; fire and shadow. And as always, it took form, the vague shape of a man, swathed in shadow, only its sickly yellow eyes truly visible._

"_It's time to end this." He said. It stared at him, like a man stares at an insect. Like he wasn't worth the time of day._

_He lunged forward, swinging his sword in a wide arc, as if to behead it. Faster then any human could've, the demon too had a sword in hand. It caught the blade of his own sword in one hand, and before he could so much as think, the black sword was driven straight through his stomach-_

Haley's eyes snapped open, and with a shocked gasp, she sat bolt upright, eyes wide with terror as she expected to feel blood gushing from the wound in her belly. She stared down, panic in her eyes, and it took her almost ten seconds to realize that there was no gaping sword wound. She breathed a sigh of relief, falling back and resting her head on the pillows, eyes closed.

"_Haley…_" She opened them again a second later, and for one heart-stopping second, almost expected to find Sam staring down at her from the ceiling. To her utmost relief, the ceiling was clear.

Relief became a strange sense of surprise when she realized that the space at the end of the bed wasn't.

**-;-**

**A/N: And the chapter is finally finished. Phew, that was hard. Firstly, I'm hoping Dean's behaviour didn't seem too out-of-character, I've got a little plot planned out for Dean and it's necessary for him to feel bad about following his father's orders for that plot to eventuate. Let's just say a little rebellion is in order, and leave it at that.**

**Secondly, I hope the dream wasn't too cheesy (if that's the right word), I was having a lot of trouble with it. Hopefully, it turned out okay. Can anyone guess what the dream was about? Why not review and let me know.**


	5. The Task at Hand

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Supernatural in any way. I do own Haley Winchester and Laura Whitman.

**Author's Note**: Not really sure if there are woods or the like near Lawrence, but in this little world of mine, there are.

**Review Answers**:

_Spuffyshipper_ – Thanks, here's the update. Soon enough for ya?

_EmSyd_ – Thanks, I think. Is that thanks warranting?

_Ghostwriter_ – Thankyou, nice to get an awesome so early in the story. Hmmm, never seen that movie, but I'm glad I did so well at… whatever I did that caused this reaction.

**Chapter 4**: Separate Paths

Haley stared in a mixture of fascination and surprise, as the flames seemed to materialize out of thin air, about a foot above the bed covers. Beside her, Sam seemed to have slipped into a semi-comatose state, completely unaware of what was happening right in front of him, though Haley was sure the flickering light caused by the bright flames would've been enough to pull someone from even the deepest sleep.

The flames flickered above the bed for a few moments, and then began to change, taking on the vaguest shape of a human face. Haley tensed, waiting for something to happen. In the back of her mind, she felt emotions begin to spread like a cancer, as faceless and empty as they always were when she was sensing a non-human entity, but taking up just as much space as normal emotions.

"What do you want?" She asked in a strained voice, taking deep breaths as she tried to ignore the effects of her empathy.

"_You…_" Haley stiffened as that single word reached her ears, weak and breathy, but by no means unclear. She was just considering waking up Sam when it tried again. "_Help… you…_"

She stared at the face, suddenly unsure what to do. With a sudden screech, the face lurched forward, passing straight through Haley's chest. Whether it came out the other side, she didn't know, and right at that moment, didn't have the time to care as a stream of images flooded her mind, completely out of control.

And then, as suddenly as they had started, they stopped. Haley gasped, supporting herself on her arms as she took deep breaths. Was that what it was like for Sam? A chaotic, never-ending stream of images that somehow seemed to make sense. If it was, no wonder he always looked worn out after having one.

She turned slowly to look at Sam, and smiled at him, leaning forward and kissing him lightly on the lips. "I won't be gone long." She whispered, pulling back. Then she climbed out of bed (with some difficulty), and began searching for her clothes.

When she was fully clothed, in a black hooded sweater with the front done up, over a red cardigan, a pair of black trousers, and plain black boots, she wrote a quick note for Sam and left it on the bedside table where he would see it, and then, with one final look at Sam, proceeded to leave the house.

Nobody noticed as the note caught fire, burning up into nothing in just a few seconds.

-;-

To say Sam was worried when he woke up and found Haley not in bed would've been an understatement. Of course, he didn't actually start to panic until he'd searched the house (in his boxer shorts), and still hadn't been able to find Haley. At which point he did the only thing he could think of.

He knocked on the door to the bedroom Dean had been given, and then opened the door before Dean could respond.

"Haley's gone." He said. Dean blinked, looking up from the pillow. And then looking Sam up and down, he gave his brother a quizzical look.

"I've had this dream before, but normally you're Leanne Rimes, not my brother." He said.

"This isn't a dream, get up." Sam said. "Haley's gone."

"Yeah, you said." Dean said. "You sure she didn't just go for a walk?" Dean asked, sliding his legs off the bed and sitting up.

"Positive, she always leaves a note if she goes for a walk before I wake up." Sam said.

"And you didn't just miss the note when you jumped to the conclusion that she was missing?" Dean asked.

"Can't you just trust me when I tell you there was no note?" Sam asked, slightly panicked desperation in his voice. Dean narrowed his eyes at Sam, and then got to his feet.

"Okay, give me a chance to get dressed - I recommend you do the same - and we can go out and look for her." He said. Sam looked down; only just now realizing he was only wearing his boxer shorts. As much as he wanted to find Haley, he doubted he'd last long outside at this early hour without even a pair of pants.

"Right." He said, turning around and leaving the room. He returned to his own room, and quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, a plain blue t-shirt, and a grey jacket. He grabbed his boots and socks, and then went back out to meet Dean, who was waiting for him in the kitchen.

"Now, you're sure she's not just out for a walk?" Dean asked. Sam gave him an irritated look. "Okay, just making sure." He headed for the door, grabbing his leather jacket off the coat rack as he exited the house. "Oh, hey, you better leave a note. Don't want Dad and Missouri to think something's happened to us." He said, glancing over his shoulder at his brother. Sam clearly didn't like the short delay, but as much as he wanted to, he couldn't argue with common sense.

-;-

Haley wasn't really sure how long it had taken her to get where she was, or for that matter, where exactly she was going. It felt as though her legs had taken on a mind of their own as soon as she'd left Missouri's house, and all of a sudden she realized she was (seemingly) completely lost in the woods. She tried hard not to think of how cliché that seemed.

And then suddenly she stopped, seeming to find what she was looking for: a small clearing not far ahead of her. Her eyes widened with surprise as the fire materialized once more, this time in the centre of the clearing. It kept growing this time, until it had taken on a vague, human-like shape, like Mary had, Haley realized.

Except something happened that had not happened with Mary. In the very centre of the flames, perhaps where a heart would've been for a person, a bright golden-white lighter formed, and spread outwards, consuming the flames in a matter of seconds and the filling the clearing. It was so bright that Haley found herself closing her eyes, holding her hands up to shield her face from the unbearably bright light.

After almost a minute, the light finally died down, and Haley lowered her hands, squinting as the light receding, shrinking back down into a single form, and Haley's breath caught in her throat and her eyes went wide as saucers when she could finally make out the form it took:

Standing before her, dressed in an elegant, cream-coloured dress, was her mother, Elise.

"M-Mum?" It came out in a sort of squeak. Elise smiled warmly at her, and Haley took a step towards her mother. And then stopped, blinking. For a split second, she'd seen…

And then it happened again. The slightest shimmer of her mother's image, like a jump on a TV screen, so small it was hard to even be sure it had happened. But something inside Haley told her to lock onto it. Something inside her suddenly clicked into place.

Everything around her seemed to stretch, melting away. She had a vague sense of freedom, like she was floating. Physically, she was still standing there, staring transfixed at her mother's image, but something, her mind, her essence, was floating, free of it's earthly shell and seeing the world for what it was.

Before her mind's eye, Elise's image was stripped away, melting into the boundless energies that surrounded them. And Haley felt… calm, at peace. Nothing like she had expected from a spirit…

And then, with a sharp intake of breath, she was back, standing in the clearing with the spirit that had donned her mother's face.

"Who are you?" She asked breathily, her voice little more then a whisper. The spirit stared at her for a long time, just stared, a slightly sad look in its eyes, Elise's eyes. And then, in a tone as quiet and breathy as Haley's, it spoke.

"I'm you."

-;-

Sam and Dean drove all around Lawrence in search of Haley. Although, if they were honest with themselves, there wasn't much chance of finding her, since they had no idea how long ago she'd left the house, nor where she could've gone (or been taken, as Sam continued to point out).

They'd been searching for almost an hour (making it a little after dawn) before Dean finally managed to convince Sam that they weren't going to find Haley on their own. Sam reluctantly agreed to go back to Missouri's house with Dean (though he had half a mind to tell Dean to stop the car and let him out).

Missouri and Pastor Jim were the only ones awake when they got back, everyone else still asleep (though they only had until six before the alarm clocks started ringing).

"You didn't find her?" Missouri asked. Sam shot an irritated glance at Dean, thinking that his brother had written in the note they'd left that Haley was missing.

"Don't blame your brother, boy." Missouri said. "You've got so much on your mind, I could sense it before you even got out of the car." She shook her head. "It's amazing you can function at all with all those thoughts buzzing around inside your head." She set two plates of toast down on the table, where Pastor Jim was already eating his, and nodded towards it. Taking the hint (well, it was a little more then that), the Winchester brother's sat down to have breakfast, though Sam's mind was clearly elsewhere.

Bobby joined them soon after, receiving the same treatment from Missouri as the last three men in her kitchen had, and was sitting at the table with a plate of toast in front of him within half a minute of coming into the kitchen.

As soon as he'd finished his breakfast, Sam left the table to get prepared to go out and look for Haley again. His seat was taken mere moments later by John.

And so the occupants of the household continued to play musical chairs around the table for the next fifteen minutes, until everyone had had their fill of toast. And then everyone gathered in the living room, where last minute additions had to be made to the plans so finely worked out the night before.

"I'm going with Sam." Was the first thing Dean said.

"No, you are not." John shot back. "You know what your jobs is, Dean. And, like it or not, you're the most qualified for it." He turned to Laura. "You can accompany Sam while he looks for Haley." She gave Dean a smug grin which, much to Dean's frustration, no one else saw. "Dean, you can take Caleb and Bobby with you in the impala." John said, and the two older men nodded, while Dean was still fuming about Laura being chosen over him to help Sam. "Daniel, you and Jim are together, you both know what you need to do." Elkins grunted, Jim nodded slowly. "Missouri, you're with me, we're gonna see if we can find where the Demon's hiding out."

They'd determined that the Demon was already somewhere in Lawrence the night before, sending minions across the country to take out its enemies.

"Okay, if there's nothing further to discuss, I say we get to this before any more of us end up dead." Everyone gave an affirmative nod or grunt, and then the small group of hunters separated to different parts of the house to prepare for their upcoming tasks.

Dean quickly tracked Laura down and cornered her in the room she'd shared with her uncle (who'd have thought Missouri had so many bedrooms in her house?).

"What are you up to?" He demanded. She grinned at him.

"Gee, Dean, paranoid much?" She asked, ducking under his arm and grabbed a knife of her bedside table, sliding it into her boot. She looked back over at him. "What? Worried I'll take your brother for a little spin?" She asked with a teasing smile.

"You keep your slutty hands off him," Dean said. "He's a married man." Laura just continued to smile, walking right up to him (and looking up at him, as she stood only a little taller then Haley).

"So was my last boyfriend. 'Til he met me." And with that, she planted a quick kiss on Dean's cheek and exited the room, leaving Dean staring after her in a mixture of shock and… no! He was not attracted to the hell-spawned slut. He gave himself a shake, but couldn't help but remember her kiss sending shivers of the good kind down his spine.

"Dean." He looked up and saw Pastor Jim. Oh great, had he been listening in on their conversation?

"Pastor Jim." Dean said.

"I couldn't help overhearing your… conversation with Laura." _How much? _Dean thought. "I think you should ease up on her, Dean." Dean scoffed.

"Give me one good reason why." He said.

"Well, she did only wake up about a week ago." Jim said. Dean furrowed his brow.

"'Wake up'?" He echoed, confused. Jim's eyes widened.

"You didn't know?" He asked.

"Know what?" Dean asked.

"Laura was in a car accident about… five or six weeks ago." Jim said. "She fell into a coma. The doctors said it was doubtful she was ever going to wake up again." Dean narrowed his eyes.

"But she did?" He asked.

"Yes. It was… a miracle." Jim said. "About a week ago, she woke up. The doctors… all of us, actually… we were all stunned. She's made a reasonably fast recovery, but personally, I think most of it is just an act." Dean frowned/ "So… ease up on her, would you, Dean?" He asked. Dean stared at the priest for a long minute, and then gave a sigh of resignation.

"Yeah, okay, I'll stop with the cold shoulder." He said.

"Thanks." Jim said. "You're a good man, Dean." Making to put a hand on Dean's shoulder.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Dean said, taking a step back and holding his hands up. "No chick flick moments." He said. Jim rolled his eyes.

"Clearly not as good as I thought," He said jokingly. Dean grinned.

"And don't you forget it." He said with a cocky grin, stepping around the priest and leaving the room. Jim gave a small chuckle and followed the younger man out of the room.

-;-

"You're me… what?" Haley asked, confused.

"Not you… physically. But your power, your essence… comes from me." The spirit said. Haley frowned, trying to make sense of what it had said.

"Wait-"

"This form was… familiar to you… you trust it." The spirit went on. "I wore it so that you would trust me. So that I could help you."

"My power…" Haley whispered. Her eyes widened in realization. "You're-"

"The Heart of Gold." Said the spirit. "It's last… bearer." Haley took an involuntary step forward.

"You fought the Demon. You beat it. How did you do it?" She demanded. She realized how rude that must have seemed, and tried again. "Please, I need to know." The spirit frowned.

"I didn't beat it." It said mournfully. "My power alone wasn't enough to beat it. You've seen it… in your dreams. It killed me."

"But… but it's not like it was in my dreams." Haley said.

"No, it isn't." The spirit said. It stepped forward, raising its hand. Haley didn't move as it reached forward, not until its fingertips made contact with her forehead. Then her eyes went wide as saucers, and she staggered backwards, hitting a tree and sinking to the ground, her eyes falling closed as she laid her head back against the tree trunk.

_When she opened her eyes again, she gasped in shock, taking a startled step back as fire rose up from the ground in front of her. Mixed through the flames was the deepest, darkest shadow she had ever seen._

_As the flames grew bigger, they began to take form, vaguely man-like. And then they solidified into a corporeal form, though it somehow still seemed to be made primarily of shadow. Except it's eyes, like two sickly yellow orbs of hatred staring straight at her._

_"It's time to end this." The Demon hissed. It stared straight at Haley, like she was a thing not worth it's time._

_"I couldn't agree more." She said, pulling her sword from the scabbard at her waist and lunging forward, swinging the sword in a wide arc aimed at the Demon's neck._

_It caught hold of the blade with its bare hands, bring it to an abrupt halt. Haley's eyes widened, and the next thing she knew, the Demon, too, had a sword, and before she could so much as think, had driven it into her stomach._

_She gasped, taking a minute to comprehend the pain stemming from the spot where the sword had penetrated her body._

_"It's over." The Demon hissed, pushing her backwards, leaving the sword imbedded in her abdomen._

_Pain shot through her body, like nothing she'd ever felt before. It was almost impossible to focus on anything else. But she had to. If she was going, then she was taking this… thing with her._

_The sword shook, sending more shockwaves of pain through her body. She ignored them as best she could, focusing only on the sword. She felt herself slipping away, losing her hold on life._

_And suddenly the sword was ripping from her stomach. Her scream seemed loud enough for the heavens to hear, and the Demon spun around to face her. In that split second before death took her, Haley threw all she had into the sword as it seemed to turn itself up, the blade, soaked in her blood, aimed directly at the chest of the body the Demon had taken on._

_And then it thrust forward going straight through the body, leaving a gaping, burning hole in the Demon's chest._

_The screams of a thousand victims seemed to echo from the Demon as flames spread from the hole. Pain and terror and fury all mixed into one as it was consumed by the very fires that made it._

_And with that Demon's demise filling her vision, she finally let herself be taken, let the last spark of life inside her go out…_

Haley's eyes opened as she sat bolt upright, gasping for air, hand on her stomach where the sword had been embedded. And for the second time that morning, felt utter relief wash over her as she felt no steel sword blade, no gaping hole. Just the warm material of her sweater.

The spirit still stood where it had been when it had pushed her into the vision, still in Elise's form. She stared up at it from where she sat for a long minute, feeling too worn out to even think of standing up.

"You killed it… with its own sword?" She asked.

"No… on both accounts." The spirit said. "I didn't kill it. Only weakened it to the state it is now. And it wasn't its own black sword that killed it." It knelt down in front of Haley. "It was the blood that coated the blade. My blood." Haley's eyes widened. "Just as my blood reduced it to the parasitic state it is in now, your blood can be used to finish it off."

It took Haley a minute to register what the spirit was telling her. She frowned. "But… that doesn't make sense." She said. "The prophecy stated that it would drink my blood to restore itself." The spirit nodded slowly, fixing Haley with a calculating gaze.

"'The blood of her heart will stain her hands, and the darkness shall feed upon it to rise from its bonds'." It recited, getting slowly to its feet. "Now tell me, Haley Winchester…" The whole front of Elise's body seemed to catch fire, spreading outward from the centre. The further it got, the less the flames in the centre became, and as they faded away, a new face and form replaced Elise's. "… Where does your heart lie?" Sam asked, his face completely blank.

Haley's eyes went wide with horror as realization dawned on her.

-;-

A/N: Evil cackle So tell me, do you like the cliffhanger? Did any of you figure out who/what the spirit was? And did any of you suspect the little twist I added at the end?


	6. Inner Demons

**Eye of the Storm**

**Beta'd by mysterychic. Many thank yous to her.**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Supernatural in any way. I do own Haley Winchester and Laura Whitman.

**Author's Note**: Okay, times been skewered a little here. Up until we see Haley next, everything that is happening while she's experiencing the vision. Basically, what seemed to take about five minutes for Haley took… well, a lot longer. Also, no idea how long it would actually take to get from Lawrence to Pastor Jim's church, nor do I really remember what it really looked like on the inside. And apologies if the sword fight sucks. Sword fighting, not one of my strong points.

**Review Answers**:

_EmSyd_ – Thanks.

_puplover77_ – Good, good, all good. The parts with Haley meaning…? The bits in the clearing? Or the vision? If you'd like clarification, I can clarify. Is there something up with Laura? That's a good question. The answer is… somewhere up ahead, possibly in this chapter.

_Ghostwriter_ – Yes, correct. Glad someone figured it out (or maybe more people figured out, and you were the only one who mentioned it). Hmmm, Acathla, didn't think of him. Oh well. Thanks for the review.

_Spuffyshipper_ – Thanks. Have done. Confused about what?

**Chapter 5**: Inner Demons

The door to Jim Murphy's church came open with a slight groan, and in walked a young woman in her mid-to-late twenties. She was wearing tight, faded jeans, a white tank top and a red leather jacket, and had a somewhat lost look on her face. However, as soon as she saw that the priest was nowhere in sight, she dropped the act.

Meg glanced around the inside of the church building; she'd really been looking forward to ripping apart a priest today. Not even trying to hide her disappointment, she turned around and was just heading for the door when she noticed a confession booth to her right. A wicked grin spread across her lips and she moved towards it, sliding the door open and stepping inside, putting on the lost little girl act again, taking a deep breath.

"Forgive me father, for I have sinned." She said in the meekest voice she could.

"Yeah, you're not kidding." Said a rather gruff voice. She frowned. That didn't sound very forgiving.

The window between Meg and the priest slid away, and an amused looked spread over Meg's face.

"Sorry, but the Lord's not into forgiving hell-spawned bitches like yourself." Dean said. Meg grinned.

"Dean," She said. "You go out and take some vows while everyone had their backs turned?"

"Hell frozen over yet?"

"No."

"There's your answer." Meg suddenly found herself looking at the barrel of a rather large shotgun.

"Oh, fu-" Was all she got out before Dean pulled the trigger, firing a large chunk of rock salt right at Meg's chest and throwing her backwards, smashing through the door to the booth and crashing into one of the benches.

Dean came out a second later, salt-gun in one hand and a hand-gun in the other. She sat up, looking nothing short of pissed off.

"That. Hurt." She said.

"Oh good, 'cause I was worried that it would only tickle." Dean said. Meg got to her feet. Well, so much for the theory that rock salt could hurt demons as much as it could humans.

"Didn't you learn the last time we tangled that you can't beat a demon?" She asked.

"Well, the last time we 'tangled', I was only semi-conscious and Haley broke your hand," Dean said. He raised the salt gun again, and Meg moved her hand, as if flicking an annoying fly. She blinked when Dean remained where he was standing. She narrowed her eyes, nodding with her head. Still nothing happened. Dean smiled.

"What have you done?" Meg demanded, snarling at him. Dean nodded towards the door. She looked over her shoulder, and saw a large, intricate circle with strange patterns crisscrossing around the inside.

"Neutralizing circle." Dean said, still smiling. "Takes away your advantage so that we're on an even playing field." Meg growled in frustration and leapt forward, kicking Dean in the chest and knocking him backwards, back into the confession booth and through the thin wall that would normally separate the priest and the confessor.

"Ow… that hurt." Dean groaned, sitting up. "Clearly not completely even." He complained; despite having her metaphysical abilities neutralized, namely her telekinesis, Meg had retained her demonically enhanced strength. He'd have to mention that to Bobby. Pending his survival.

He got to his feet, seeing Meg standing out by the benches with a cocky grin of her own. "You want to play rough?" Dean asked, stepping back out of the booth. "Okay, bitch. Let's play." He said. Meg grinned, and then ran straight at him, aiming a punch right at his face.

-;-

"So what's it like being married?" Laura asked Sam as they drove down the road in her Cadillac. Sam gave her an incredulous look, but then came to the conclusion that the question was completely serious.

"I'm not exactly the right person to ask," He said. "I mean, I've only been married for a couple of weeks." He glanced out the side window, as if hoping Haley would just magically appear on the sidewalk. He sighed and turned back to Laura. "Any idea, at all, where we should start looking?" He asked.

"What makes you think I'd know?" Laura asked, glancing over at the younger hunter for a second.

"Well, you've been in Lawrence longer then I have… the last time I was here, we checked out a service station, a mechanics, Missouri's house and our old house." Sam said.

"Well, you've got one up on me." Laura said. "I've seen Missouri's house, a service station, and a grocery store; my dear uncle doesn't want me over exerting myself."

"Over exerting yourself?" Sam questioned. Laura glanced at him again.

"Oh come on. Does anybody know I was in a coma?" She demanded, shaking her head in exasperation. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"You were in a coma?" He asked. Laura nodded.

"Yeah, car accident. Scared the shit out of Uncle Jim." She said. "Now he's convinced miracles happen because I wasn't supposed to wake up, but I did." She frowned. "Does that make me responsible for him renewing faith in his religion?" She had a look of mock concentration on her face, so Sam guessed she was joking.

They continued to drive around for a while, though Sam could see they were no closer to finding Haley then he had been with Dean earlier that day. He glanced in the rear view mirror, and furrowed his brow at what he saw.

"That car's been following us." He said. Laura nodded.

"Yeah," She agreed. "Any idea who they could be?" She asked. The windows were tinted, making it impossible to see inside, so there was a possibility it was someone they'd recognize.

"Demons?" He suggested. Laura shrugged.

"You guess is as good as mine." She said. "Should we try to lose them or just act like we haven't spotted them yet?" She asked. Now it was Sam's turn to shrug, unsure what to do.

"I guess we just wait 'em out, see if they'll get bored with us." He said. Laura nodded, and turned down a side road that headed out of town. "Hey, where are we going?" Sam asked.

"We're widening our search." Laura said. "Besides, it might be easier to lose them, should we have to, without being boxed into these streets." Sam nodded, momentary panic replaced by common sense. He was just a little on edge. And with Haley missing and the knowledge that each and every hunter was being targeted by demons, he had every right to be on edge. He glanced in the rear view mirror again, mostly in a vain hope that they were wrong and the car wasn't following them.

"As if we aren't having a hard enough time finding Haley," he muttered.

-;-

Dean climbed slowly to his feet for about the sixth time since he'd started fighting Meg. She seemed to take great pleasure in throwing him around like a ball.

"You know, this is really not fair," He said. "You've got that whole high endurance thing you demons have. I'm just a mortal."

"Not my problem." Meg said, throwing another punch at him. He sidestepped, grabbed her arm, and used the emphasis of her attack to spin her around and let her loose in the opposite direction, sending her crashing through a door and into another room. Dean followed.

And hit the floor as a knife came hurtling at him, passing through the space his head had been mere seconds earlier.

He rolled over and came back to his feet, seeing Meg standing over by a large collection of daggers, throwing knives, and… swords.

"Oh shit." Dean muttered, seeing Meg holding a rather nasty looking sword with a slightly curved blade. She smiled at him.

"You know, I wondered why a priest would keep these sorts of things in a church," she said. "And then I stopped wondering and realized I could kill you a hell of a lot more painfully by sticking sharp objects into your body." She took a menacing step towards him, brandishing the sword. Dean glanced around the room (or the part of the room he could reach without being impaled by Meg's sword), searching for something he could use as a weapon, or at the very least a way to defend himself against the sword until he could find a weapon.

"Time's up, Dean." Meg charged forward, attacking ferociously with the sword. Dean ducked and rolled out of the way, coming to the table with all the weapons. He grabbed a sword of his own and turned back around to face Meg.

"I couldn't agree more." He said, lunging forward, attacking with a swift stabbing motion. Meg side-stepped and swung her sword at his waist, which he easily parried and then threw a punch at Meg's face. She caught his fist with her hand, spun around and _threw him _across the room and into the wall.

Dean didn't take the time to try and recover. Running mostly on adrenaline, and pushed himself back to his feet, just in time to parry a no-doubt fatal blow from Meg, and then return to the offensive, slash, striking and stabbing in an attempt to find a way to get at Meg, though he realized after about ten minutes of fighting that it wouldn't matter. Meg had fallen from a seven-story window, then gotten up and walked away, seemingly without a scratch on her. What was a sword going to do to her?

-;-

"Please tell me that's not what it sounds like." Sam said.

"Does it sound like the engine's failing?" Laura asked.

"Yeah."

"No can do." A few seconds later, the car slowed and came to a halt in the middle of the road. Sam sat in his seat, staring out the front window, clearly not pleased by this turn of events.

Laura didn't seem any more pleased then Sam. With a huff, she opened her door, climbed out of the car, and walked around to the front, popping the hood and taking a look inside.

"Okay, I'm just pretending around here. I hunt things. I kill things. I don't fix cars." She said. She looked hopefully around the hood at Sam, who gave an exasperated sigh. "Any chance you could fix it?" She asked.

"Dean does the car stuff." Sam said, getting out of the car as well. "I just drive on occasion." At his words, Laura slammed the hood back down, turning around and leaning against it.

"Okay, how far out of Lawrence are we?" She asked.

"Well, we've been driving for twenty minutes, maybe twenty five." Sam said. "My guess… far enough for it to take us at least half an hour to get back. And that car is still coming." He suddenly saw the car on the horizon. He turned to look at Laura, who turned to look at the car.

"Okay, new plan." Laura said. "I'm assuming you brought some form of weaponry with you." She said. Sam nodded. "Good." She nodded towards the woods on either side of the road. "We hide until they pass. If they don't pass, then we… er…" She frowned.

"We'll jump off that bridge when we come to it." Sam said, already leaving the road. Laura took one last look at the approaching car and then followed him into the woods, ducking behind one of the trees. Sam followed suit, glancing around it to keep an eye out for the car.

Just as they suspected, it came to a stop right behind Laura's Cadillac. The doors opened and five people climbed out, two men and three women. One of the men, Sam noticed, was the guy who'd attacked he, Dean and Haley at the motel room, which confirmed that they had been followed by demons.

"Haley vanishes, Dean goes to wait for a demon attack, and we're being followed by a group of demons," Sam muttered. "Why do I get the feeling these aren't coincidences?" He glanced over at Laura, who shrugged.

"They can't have gone far." The demon Sam had already met, who seemed to be in charge, turned to his fellow demons. "We'll split up. Remember, they're wanted alive." Sam looked over at Laura as the demons began choosing which directions to go.

"I think we need to split up as well." He said. Laura raised an eyebrow. "Let's face it: even together we don't stand a chance against one demon. At least on our own there's a chance one of us is going to get away." Laura frowned, and then nodded.

"Okay." She said. "I'll wait for them to leave, and see if I can get the car started. If I can, I'll meet you at that service station we passed about fifteen minutes ago. If I can't, well…" She trailed off. "If I don't get there within an hour, call your father and get him to come pick you up."

"What about you?" Sam asked.

"I'll either be dead, dying or possessed." Laura said. "Either way, there wouldn't be much point coming back for me." Sam frowned, suddenly not so fond of his idea. "Hurry up, any minute now they're going to start searching." After a few second's hesitation, Sam nodded, took one last look at the demons, and then began making his way deeper into the woods, trying to keep low and out of sight.

-;-

Swords had been discarded in favour of fists. Though not before Dean received a shallow cut above his eyebrow, resulting in somewhat blood-distorted vision, and a minor stab wound to his shoulder. And Meg had a decent-sized cut across her arm, which led to Dean's discovery that she was not impervious to injury, merely seemingly oblivious to it.

He wiped his eye for what seemed like the hundredth time, trying to keep it clear of the blood still trickling from the cut above it. They were circling each other, both waiting for the other to make a move.

"Y'know, I came here to kill a priest," Meg stated. "But this is much more enjoyable; he may keep swords in his closet, but I doubt he's as skilled at using them as you."

"Wow, that would've sounded like a compliment if it hadn't come from you." Dean shot back. Meg smiled coldly.

"Not my problem if you can't see good when it's staring you in the face," Meg said, and then her smile became just a little colder. "But then that's why we're here, isn't it? Because you can't see what's right there in front of you."

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked; as much as he knew that striking up a conversation with a demon in the middle of a fight never ended well, he couldn't stop himself from asking.

Meg just laughed. "You really don't know, do you?" She sneered. "All your life, you've fought for them. To protect them. To protect _him_." They'd both come to a stop, just facing each other now. "It's the only thing you're really good at, the only thing that gives your pathetic life meaning." Dean's whole body shook. Because what Meg was saying was a little too close to the truth. "And now, you don't even have that. Sam doesn't need you anymore, he's got Haley. He's grown up. And John, well, he stopped needing you months ago. Isn't that why you went crawling after Sammy with your tail between your legs?"

"What, so now I'm a dog?" Dean asked sarcatically, trying to keep his voice steady. Meg ingored his comment.

"Daddy abandoned you, left you out in the cold. Where else where you going to go?" She was walking around him now for great effect, taunting him, cutting him right to his soul with each word. "You're fooling yourself if you think they still need your help. Why else would they send you all the way out here with a dysfunctional spell to fight me?"

"Stop… stop it." Dean stammered, his voice cracking.

"They don't need you anymore, Dean…" Meg whispered tauntingly, stopping right in front of him. "… now why don't you stop hiding behind that mask and give in to what you really are."

"No…" Dean whispered.

"All those years, all those things you've killed. It wasn't for them. It wasn't to protect Daddy and baby brother." Meg leaned in, right up close to his face. "You enjoyed it. The death, the pain. The thrill of holding another creature's life in your hands, and then taking it from them with a single pull of the trigger, the toss of a knife, the stab of a sword." Dean shook his head, shaking from head to toe with the effort of now breaking down right then and there. "Your Dad raised you to be a hunter…" Meg whispered, "… what he created was a monster." Dean looked up, right into her eyes. And somewhere inside, he felt something snap.

He cried out in fury and lunged forward, taking hold of Meg by the front of her jacket and slamming her against the wall, staring at her with rage in his eyes, his breaths coming out in short, seemingly exhausted pants.

"What are you gonna do, Dean?" Meg asked, not the least bit scared. "You gonna kill me? You gonna give into that hate that's bubbling away beneath the surface?" She smiled at him.

"No." Dean said. He took her head in his hands and slammed their lips together in a bone-jarring kiss.

-;-

Sam somehow managed to navigate his way through the woods while keeping one step ahead of the demons that were no doubt still looking for him. His biggest worry was when he ran out of woods to take cover in. Out in the open he'd be a sitting duck, and they'd been driving for at least five minutes between the service station and the woods.

But first thing's first, he had to actually find a way out of the woods. This was a lot easier said then done, even if he hadn't had the threat of demons not far behind him to put him on edge and split his focus.

But finally, almost fifteen minutes later then he had hoped, he made it out of the woods. He looked up the road towards the service station, but saw no sign of Laura's car there. He could only hope she showed up soon, preferably in the time it took him to reach the service station.

He was just making his way from the woods when his cell phone rang. He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard it, having been so carefully quiet for the past forty-five minutes. As soon as his heart slowed back down to an acceptable rate, he answered the phone.

"Yeah?" He said.

_**Laura looked around as she dialled Sam's cell number into her own, keeping an eye out for anything unfriendly as she waited for Sam to answer.**_

"… _won't start._" Sam blinked, feeling pain beginning to flare up behind his eyes. "Sam? Sam, are you listening?"

"Argh… yeah, I'm… listening." Sam said.

"_**I've got bad news." Laura said, still glancing around, almost like she expected the demons to suddenly jump out of the woods. "The stupid car won't start."**_

Sam groaned as he tried to pay attention to what Laura was saying in the here and now, not what she was saying in his vision. But the two seemed to be blending and he wasn't sure which was which now.

"_Sam?_"

"Laura, I think…" He was cut off as a second wave of pain stabbed into his head.

_**She turned suddenly as a twig snapped, and saw two of the five demons that had gone off in search of Sam standing not five meters from her. She froze, phone still to her ear.**_

"_**Sam, are you there?" She asked. "Sam?" The demons took a step towards her. "Sam, talk to me!"**_

"Laura." Sam gasped as the vision faded, though the pain remained. He suddenly realized the phone was no longer in his hand, and dropped to his knees, squinting in the fading sunlight as he fumbled around on the ground for his cell phone. Finally he found it, and quickly put it to his ear. "Laura, there are two -" He stopped. "Laura?" He froze as he suddenly realized that the line was dead.

He slowly lowered the phone from his ear, suddenly not sure what to do. He felt like a haze had fallen over his brain, making it difficult to focus, and wondered if it was yet another side effect of the visions, as if blinding pain wasn't already enough.

He rubbed his eyes, slowly getting to his feet, feeling a little unsteady. He tried to remember, what was he doing? The service station? Yeah, that's right, he'd been on his way to the service station when Laura had called. And now… now he had to get there and ring his dad so he could…

Sam opened his eyes, and squinted; the sun, which seemed to be only peeking over the horizon, was hitting his eyes with an obscene amount of light. Turning away from it, he half-walked half-staggered towards the service station to call his father. His cell phone lay forgotten in the dirt behind him.

-;-

Meg let out a short gasp as she was slammed down onto one of the benches, knocking the air from her lungs. It was forgotten almost as soon as it happened, as enthralled as they were in each other's bodies.

It was debatable what it was they were actually doing. Some of the time it might have been called kissing, and that's a very big 'might'. Most of the time it seemed more like they were trying to tear each other apart with their lips alone.

Meg's hands trailed along Dean's bare back, slowly, delicately. Dean was wearing only his jeans now, and they were dangerously close to sliding down. Meg too had been stripped of most of her top-wear, wearing only her bra and her jeans. Her touch sent shivers down Dean's spine that he couldn't describe. All he knew was that he liked it. Though at the same time what he was doing made him sick to the core.

He let out a sudden cry of pain as Meg stopped being as delicate with her hands. He could feel her fingernails leaving long, thin scratches along his back. Breaths coming in and out in short pants, Dean growled like an angry animal and leaned down, brushing his teeth along her exposed shoulder, just enough to cause mild discomfort.

Far from deterring her from cutting up his back (though she did stop for the moment), it seemed to turn her on. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled his head back away from her shoulder, an excited, almost maddened look in her eyes. Then she took his head in both hands and slammed their lips together again, not letting go of his hair. Dean pushed all the pain to the back of his mind, and focused instead on smothering Meg's lips with his own, holding onto her waist so tightly he was beginning to leave bruises.

After a minute, Meg released her hold on his hair, and he lifted his head slightly, both of them panting like wild animals.

"I've… been after… the wrong… brother." Meg gasped. Dean gave her a crazed smile and moved his lips down to her neck, licking her, kissing her, coming close to biting her on more then one occasion, and, judging from the moans of pleasure she kept giving, driving her wild.

After what seemed like an eternity, she rolled them over, causing them to fall off the bench and onto the cold stone floor. Dean cried out in shock, which was cut off abruptly as all the air was forced out of _his_ lungs this time. While he recovered his breath, he felt Meg working to remove his jeans. He let her, laying his head back and taking in deep, long breaths.

And then he felt her slide over him, pulling him into her body. Dean thrust up, again and again, each time causing Meg to cry out. She opened her eyes after a minute, staring down at him as she moved in rhythm with each thrust. His hands were locked around her arms a painful vice-like grip, which was the only way he could keep from crying out with her nails digging into his shoulder. He was staring up at her with a mixture pleasure, lust and undeniable disgust. But he kept up, using her as leverage with each thrust, as much pulling her onto him as pushing into her.

Another small eternity of pain and pleasure later, he felt as though he erupted inside of her. Meg's eyes just went wide as saucers, while Dean's closed as he laid his head back, feeling completely worn out.

-;-

**A/N: Okay, I know, abrupt ending. Now, how many people's jaws are currently brushing the floor? I realize Meg and Dean may not be what you all expected, but I personally think it's a good match. Now, I want your honest opinions on this chapter, especially about Meg tormenting Dean and Meg and Dean having sex, because those are the two parts I was most concerned about (but enjoyed writing the most). Hope you enjoyed this chapter, more coming soon. **


	7. Through Your Eyes

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Supernatural in any way. I do own Haley Winchester and Laura Whitman.

**Author's Note**: A quick explanation about Sam being the necessary part of the Demon's restoration (Ooh, scary Harry Potter flashback… over it now). I wanted to make sure Sam and Dean still got plenty of spotlight, even though Haley is the one who can kill the Demon (well, her blood, anyway). One reason why Haley still technically only has one gift (the psi-demon's additions don't count) and Sam has two (so far – yes, I like brackets, stop looking at me like that) like he did in the show.

**Review Answers**: Oh, thankyou, reviews always push me to go faster, especially super good reviews like these.

_Ghostwriter_ – Good, shocking, but well received, exactly what I was hoping for (shock is good for me). As it happens, it was actually Spike and Buffy that gave me the idea for Dean and Meg… I was watching the bit where they bring that house down around them whilst having sex, and it hit me: Dean and Meg would make an awesome, if bizarre, couple.

_Spuffyshipper_ – Update here. This technically _is_ Salvation/Devil's Trap, just my AU version of it. Large parts of this being an AU is the major lack of the Colt, Haley's existence, the Heart of Gold prophecy, and, as you pointed out, the fact that Jim and Caleb weren't killed by Meg.

_puplover77_ – Lol, interesting reaction. Interesting, but good all the same. Glad to see it was so well received. And I'm glad you think it was so well written. Here's more for ya.

_AnimeFan918_ – Thanks. Which other one would that be? Heart of Gold or Twisted Love? Whichever one it was, I recommend the other as well. Unless you don't like slash, then I wouldn't recommend Twisted Love.

_FireZombie_ – Thanks, vows were written by moi, took me ages to come up with them. I'm glad the ending was received so positively, here's the update you ordered, would you like some fries with that (I need a new punchline).

_EmSyd_ – Thank you. Shocking is good.

**Chapter 6**: Through Your Eyes

Haley bent down, putting her hand on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Before she'd become pregnant, she could've run… well, she'd have gotten a lot further then the edge of the woods by now. However, since she'd started carrying around a passenger, things had gotten so much harder.

She didn't stop to rest for long. She had to get back to the house to warn John (and hopefully, Sam, if he was there) about who the Demon was really after. As soon as she'd caught her breath, she started running again (and not very fast). She could only hope that there might be someone kind enough to give her a lift. Because she could not run all the way back to Missouri's house, there was just no way.

And not five minutes later:

"Need a lift?" Haley looked up at the vehicle that had parked beside, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"John, thank god."

"Thank Missouri." John said, opening the side door of his truck. Haley looked incredulously up at the door, wondering just how high she'd be able to get with a belly the size hers was. John clearly saw this dilemma, and quickly climbed out to help her up.

"So, Missouri told you where I was?" Haley asked five minutes later as they drove down the road in the direction of Missouri's house.

"Yeah, she said you may need a lift." John said. "What were you thinking, going off on your own?" He berated her. "Anything could've happened, to you, to the baby. The Demon could've gotten to you."

"Hey, I left a note for Sam," Haley snapped, feeling anger, fuelled by fear, practically rolling off of John. "Besides… the Demon isn't after me. At least, not in the way we thought." She said. John raised an eyebrow. "It's after me, yes, but only because I can kill it." John didn't look any less confused. Haley rolled her eyes. "It needs Sam's blood to return to full power, not mine." She all-but shouted at him.

John's eyes widened, but that was the only thing that gave away the shock and new sense of fear that was now coming from him. If he'd had less self-control, Haley had no doubt he'd have slammed the brakes of the truck like most people did when they heard news like that. Luckily for Haley, John wasn't most people.

_Wow, who'd have thought one day I'd actually be thankful John's the way he is? _Haley wondered. She glanced at her father-in-law (wow, it was almost as strange thinking of him like that as it had been thinking of Sam as he husband), still feeling hints of fear coming from him, but not much. Not from lack of fear, merely incredible skill at burying emotions.

_What it must've been like to lose Mary… I can't imagine ever losing Sam. But then, I've done it twice already, what's one more time going to matter?_ She thought bitterly. Twice since meeting Sam, she'd almost lost him. The first time being right here in Lawrence when the poltergeist had tried to strangle him. The second being when she'd turned her back on Sam and on hunting to go and live with her mother. Both times had been too close for comfort in the end and she never wanted to be that close again.

"Can this thing go any faster?" She asked John irritably. A second later, the truck sped up a lot more then was probably legal.

-;-

By the time he reached the actual station building, Sam was beginning to feel better. At least, his thoughts were more ordered and he could actually remember what he was supposed to do. The aftermath the headache was still with him, but aside from that, all evidence of the vision seemed to have faded.

He stepped into the small building, and was hit with a blast of cold air from the air conditioning. Being hot and sweaty from his hasty trek through the woods, he felt as though he'd stepped into an earth-bound heaven.

But his bliss was short lived as he remembered he had to get in touch with his father. Turning away from the air conditioner, he walked up to the counter.

"Do you have a phone I can borrow?" He asked. The bored-looking clerk sitting behind the counter looked up from his magazine, and nodded behind Sam, who looked over his shoulder and saw a payphone at the other end of the room. He gave the clerk a thankful smile, but the man had already turned his attention back to his magazine. Frowning, Sam turned towards the payphone, fishing his wallet out of his pocket to get some money.

Dropping a couple of coins into the payphone, he dialled and number and waited for his father to pick up.

"Come on. Come on, pick up." He muttered as it continued to ring. Finally, when he was just about to hang up and maybe try and walk back to Lawrence, he heard someone answer his father's cell phone.

"_Hello?_"

"Haley?" Sam asked incredulously. "Is that you?"

"_Sam?_" He heard relief in Haley's voice.

"Yeah, it's me." Sam said. "Where were you? I've been searching all day."

"_Yeah, I think someone's playing games with us,_" Haley said. "_I had some… things to take care of. But I know I left you a note telling you I'd be back._"

"Well, it wasn't there when I woke up," Sam stated. "Listen, Haley, I need you to come pick me up. I'm assuming you're with Dad?" He said.

"_Yeah, he picked _me _up._" Haley said. "_Where are you?_" She asked.

Sam opened his mouth to answer, but froze when he felt the cold barrel of a shotgun stick into the nape of his neck, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Put it down." Someone (presumedly the person holding the shotgun) whispered menacingly. Sam tried to look over his shoulder to see who it was, but the barrel of the gun digging into the back of his head changed his mind.

"_Sam?_" Haley voice was now filled with concern. "_Sam, are you still there?_"

"Hang up." The man hissed. Sam hesitated, wondering if he could tell Haley where he was before the assailant fired. But then what good would that do if he already had a bullet in his head? "Now!" The man growled. Reluctantly, still hearing Haley's voice, Sam replaced the phone on the receiver. "Good boy." Something about the way he said that sent shivers up Sam's spine. Or maybe that was just the fact that someone had a gun positioned perfectly to blow a small hole through Sam's head. "'You expecting anyone?"

"No," Sam answered in a low whisper. He doubted there was any chance Laura was coming to get him, and he hadn't gotten a chance to tell Haley where to pick him up. As far as he could tell, he was on his own.

"Good." The next second, Sam felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and everything went black.

-;-

When Dean woke up, he felt the after effects of the previous… whenever (he couldn't really tell what time of the day or night it was) like a pain in the neck.

No, wait, he really did have a pain in his neck.

He opened his eyes and discovered the pain was because he was lying flat on his back with his head propped up against the wall. How he'd managed to sleep like that, he had no idea.

Memories of his actions flooded his brain. He sat bolt upright as every single thing he'd done with Meg returned to him in painful detail. Well, he tried to sit bolt upright. His rise was brought to an abrupt halt when the handcuffs holding his right arm to a leg of the weapons table (why did Jim have to bolt it to the floor?) were pulled as tight as it would go.

He looked around the room. No sign of Meg. No sign of the keys to the cuffs. No sign of his clothes either. At least she'd had the decency to leave him some sort of sheet to protect what little modesty he had.

"Of all the things…" He muttered. "Sam rebels, he goes to college. I rebel, I screw a demon." Why did he have to be the obedient son? The good little soldier, following every order no matter what he thought about it. And then, when he finally cracked and did something his father would not approve of, it had to be as far away from approval as he could go.

He'd only done this once before. Well, he'd never had sex with a demon before, but he had disobeyed his father. Okay twice, but the business with the shtriga didn't count because this is disobedience brought on by rebellion, not boredom, that he's thinking of.

It hadn't been long after Sam had left. He'd been hit with a large amount of guilt for not doing more to convince Sam to stay. And a large part of him had blamed his father for Sam's sudden and apparently (at the time) permanent departure. John had, after all, told Sam that if he was going to go, he should stay gone.

So Dean had done the only thing he was good at besides taking care of Sam and hunting. He'd gone out, gotten drunk, and had sex. And then he'd woken up beside Cassie the next morning. And so had begun what he'd thought at the time could actually be a relationship. They'd been dating for a few weeks, when John had called him for a job that would take the two of them to get done.

Not wanting to just leave Cassie without an explanation, he'd told her absolutely everything. And, for the second time in only a couple of months, had had the one person he cared about above all else turn their back on him at a moments notice.

"So naturally, this time I went for someone who already hated me," He said to himself. "So that I wouldn't be shocked when she did…" He glanced at the handcuffs. "This." He finished. He suddenly noticed a small piece of paper, folded up and wedged inside the cuff around the table leg. Curious, and took pried it out and unfolded it.

_You were good. Too good to go to waste. If you weren't, you'd be dead by now. I'll see you later._

It probably would've seemed quite casual, if you skipped the third sentence and didn't know who had left it for him.

He pulled uselessly against the handcuffs, considering his options. There weren't many. He could sit there, essentially naked, and wait for some poor innocent person to walk into the church, expecting to talk to a priest, and instead find him. If that didn't happen, then he had no doubt Meg would be back once she was finished with whatever she'd left to do (Dean had a sneaking feeling it had something to do with his brother).

He didn't care much for either of those, and his only other option was to scour the floor for something he could use to pick the lock on the handcuffs. So that's what he did.

And, surprisingly, it didn't take him that long to find something. There was a small piece of wire under the table that seemed to have fallen down behind it. After a lot of stretching, Dean managed to pull it out, and after that it didn't take very long to free himself of the handcuffs. Then he was on his feet and leaving the room before he even made a conscious decision to do so.

He glanced out into the main part of the church, was beyond thankful to find it completely deserted. Keeping the sheet wrapped around his lower body (being naked in front of family was one thing, strangers was a completely different subject), he walked quickly over to his clothes and took them back into the room, where he quickly got dressed. He winced, forgetting up until that moment that Meg had stabbed him in the shoulder. It was fairly shallow (he'd been pulling back even before she'd made to stab him), but it still hurt like hell. And the scratches on his back stung when he first pulled his shirt on. But he bit into his lip and continued getting dressed. Thankfully, the cut above his eye had stopped bleeding. It would've made it kind of hard to drive if he'd had blood seeping into his…

He suddenly froze as he was pulling his jeans up, his thoughts moving to the impala parked outside in the church parking lot. He quickly finished with his jeans, grabbed his jacket off the table, and then ran as fast as he possibly could out of the church.

To his utter relief and surprise, there didn't seem to be any exterior damage to his baby. And a quick inspection under the hood told him the interior seemed to be safe as well. He let out a sigh of relief, and closed the hood down, walking around to the driver's door as he pulled on his jacket. He climbed in, started the car, and roared out of the parking lot.

-;-

Haley tapped her fingers impatiently against the table as she waited for John and Missouri to return. They seemed to think that because she was pregnant, she was incapable of helping them track down where the call had come from. She wasn't actually sure how they planned on doing that, but clearly a pregnant woman couldn't help.

She sighed, closing her eyes and delving down into herself, empathically reaching out to the life growing inside of her. It helped to relax her sometimes, to feel the small collective of emotions, like a combination of herself and Sam. Of course, it was dormant at the moment, like a person felt when they were asleep. Although that may not be a good example, because in some cases people were even more emotional when they were asleep then when they were awake (Sam during one of his nightmares was a good example of this).

Her eyes suddenly snapped open as she felt a sharp pain strike into the back of her head. Almost before she had a chance to recognize that she felt the pain, it was gone again, leaving Haley dazed as if someone had hit her with something hard right where the pain had been.

She put her hand up to where she'd felt the pain, but there was nothing there, no sign that just seconds earlier she had felt as though someone had hit her. She frowned, and then quickly got to her feet, rushing to the door. The only answer she could come up with was that either John or Missouri had been attacked and she'd felt it.

But as soon as she'd opened the door into the living room, she knew that couldn't be it. John and Missouri were sitting at the coffee table, with Sam's laptop in front of them. Haley bit her lip, now more then a little confused. Had she just imagined the pain?

She closed the door before either John or Missouri saw her, and went back to sit down at the table. She really wished she could be out there looking for Sam like he had for her. But even if she hadn't been pregnant, she doubted she'd be allowed. Oh, wow, did she actually need permission to go out and look for her husband?

But as much as she hated to admit it, she understood why John didn't want her to go out searching. Every time someone did that, they seemed to disappear, whether by accident or interference, and right now they couldn't afford to lose anyone else.

She gave a startled jerk as John's cell phone started ringing. Giving herself a shake, she picked up the phone and hit the talk button.

"Sam?" She said, almost desperately.

"_Dean._" Came the response.

"Oh… hi, Dean." She muttered.

"_Haley, is that you?_" Dean asked.

"Yes it is me, no I wasn't abducted, yes I did leave a note, no I don't know where Sam is," Haley said all this very fast, like she knew exactly what Dean had been going to ask. Judging by the stunned silence on the other end of the phone, she wasn't far off.

"_Sam's missing?_" Dean finally asked.

"Yeah…" Haley said softly. "We were talking on the phone… I think maybe he got separated from Laura… anyway, he just hung up."

"_Uh… don't people normally do that when they've finished on the phone?_" Dean asked.

"Yeah, but we weren't finished!" Haley snapped irritably. "He was about to tell me where he was so we could go get him and then-"

"_Whoa, chill, I was just asking._" Dean said. Haley sighed exasperatedly, putting a hand to her head.

"Yeah, I know." She said. "How far away are you?" She asked.

"A couple of hours still." Dean said. "It'll probably be morning by the time I get there." Haley nodded, even though he couldn't see her.

"Okay, I'll see you then," she said. "Oh, we may be out looking for Sam. Missouri normally leaves the back door unlocked when she goes out, so if we're gone you can get in through there."

"Okay, later." Dean said, and Haley could hear the hint of worry in his voice.

"Yeah… later." Haley said nonchalantly, ending the conversation and dropping the phone onto the table. "Sam, where are you?" She whispered, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples, still feeling a little dazed from the blow to her head.

_Wait, what blow to the head?_ Her eyes snapped open, and with a sharp intake of breath, she found herself trapped, enclosed in a small, dark space. The ropes binding her wrists behind her back were so tight they were cutting into her skin. She was panicking, her breath getting quicker.

"_Haley._" She tried to move, kicking out wildly with her legs. All that got her was yet more evidence that there was no room for someone as tall as her. No, wait, that didn't make any sense. She wasn't tall.

"_Haley._ _Haley, snap out of it!_" She was back in the kitchen, lying on the floor, staring up at John's worried face. She sat up, still feeling the darkness closing in on her, the panic falling over her like a thick blanket, snatching away what little air that had remained. She swallowed, looking from John to Missouri, and then back to John.

"I know where Sam is." She said in a hoarse voice, confusion and certainty filling her eyes at the same time.

-;-

**A/N: Yes, that is all until the next chapter. Before anyone asks (in case any of you were going to), Haley's little visit into (guess who)'s mind was an extension of her empathy. She was basically reaching out for him and just happened to lock in on him. She sorted projected the empathic part of her mind into his mind and felt everything he was feeling. That make any sense? Hope so, cause I don't know how else to explain. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I think I know how the next one will go, so it shouldn't be too long before it's up as well. Until then, Cyas. **


	8. Unmasked

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Supernatural in any way. I do own Haley Winchester and Laura Whitman.

**Author's Note**: Originally chapter six was supposed to be Unmasked, but I found I liked where it ended too well to do the 'unmasking' the title spoke of, so it was moved to this chapter. Also, vague reference to some early chapters of Heart of Gold early on in this chapter. Can anyone guess what that reference is? No Dean or Haley (more or less) in this chapter. I hope it's okay, it hasn't been beta'd.

**Review Answers**:

_Kiss of Death_ – Good, this is good news. Oh, the last chapter? What was shocking about it? Or do you mean Chapter six? I'm confused. But anyway, glad you're liking it.

_Spuffyshipper_ – Thankyou. Really? I've always imagined her as a tough, street-wise kind of person, sort of like a female Dean, just toning down on the constant flirting, as well as a couple of other things. At least, that's how she'd be portrayed in this story (should she ever become unpossessed), so that's why I thought she just fit with Dean. Plus (and this could be stretching it a little) I could have sworn I noticed chemistry (mostly one-sided on Meg's part )between her and Dean in Devil's Trap before they started the exorcism. Glad you liked it (though I must be honest, I would've gone on with it whether you did or not). Here's some more for you to read.

_EmSyd_ – Thankyou, here's more.

_Ghostwriter_ – Yay, thank you, such good compliments. Keeping up as fast as I can.

_The Great and Powerful Oz_ – Yeah, he has this tendency not to listen when he's busy like that. Lol, don't worry, no such plans like that, even if her body was capable of it (but honestly, falling fro ma seven story building, I doubt she even could right now, what with her body being broken and all). Lol, always good when the fans get addictive. Well, I think so anyway. Just stay behind the security fence and no one will get hurt. Except Sam (because he seems to get hurt regardless of what anyone does). And Meg (because we all now what's going to happen to her… don't we?).

**Chapter 7**: Unmasked

Sam could feel her slide over his body like liquid, felt her slender hands trace along his chest and down his arms, her lips and tongue playing with his neck. He took comfort in her presence, trying to reach up to her, but his arms refused to move. In fact, his whole body felt stiff, like he was boxed in.

And she was leaving. It felt as though he was being submerged beneath freezing water right after bathing in the sun's warmth. His breath quickened and he tried to reach for her again, tried to call out to her. She was nothing more then a disembodied warmth, a thought with which he comforted himself. But she was there, whether by his imagination or not, and he couldn't bear to be without her.

His eyes snapped open, and he cried out in the darkness. That's all there was, all he could see, all he could feel. His body was stiff, aching with every attempt at movement, but he didn't stop struggling, even when he felt as though his hand were being cut off by those damned ropes, even when his knees and elbows were bruised and sore from being rammed into the walls of his prison.

"No," He cried out, reaching out desperately for Haley, even though she was long gone, if she was ever there at all. He reached out with all he had. "Bring her back. Bring her back!" He cried out in as a burst of energy escaped him, sending blinding pain through his head. Somewhere below him, he heard something akin to a small explosion.

If his hands had been free, they'd be massaging his temples where he was sure someone had two power drills slowly digging through his skull. For a brief moment, darkness gave way to confusion and pain, and despite himself, Sam welcomed it. Anything was better then being alone in the darkness again.

He gave a startled jerk as a loud bang sounded above him. A second later, the roof seemed to be pulled away and through the confusing haze that had fallen across his mind, Sam thought he recognized the clerk from the service station.

"What do you think you're playing at, huh?" He demanded. Sam tried to shy away from him, tried to press himself against the back of the… he suddenly realized something: he was in the trunk of a car. "Well?" Sam looked back up at the clerk, not saying anything. To be perfectly honest he wasn't really sure what the man was talking about.

As if realizing this, he reached down and lifted Sam partly from the trunk by the back of his jacket, and forced him to look down at the right-back tyre. To Sam's surprise, there was a rather large hole in it. How had the clerk managed to drive so far with a tyre like that?

"Well?" The clerk repeated. Sam just turned his fearful, confused gaze at him.

"I… I don't understand." He said meekly. The clerk narrowed his eyes at the younger man.

"You did something, I felt it." He stated coldly. "That hocus-pocus you people like to do." Sam narrowed his eyes for two reasons. The first, being that the clerk had said 'you people'. Did that mean he wasn't a demon? That he was, in fact, human? Sam really didn't want to believe that human could willingly ally himself with demons. But then again, he'd seen far too much evil done ever by humans to be surprised by it.

The second reason being the use of the word 'hocus-pocus'. He tried to remember, but the last few minutes since waking up were… blurry for some reason. And his head still ached like someone was trying to drill into his brain.

And then he remembered. The raw, desperate need to not be on his own anymore, and then the burst of energy that had seemed to fly out of him… right before he'd heard that hole getting punched into the tyre.

"S-sorry?" He said hesitantly. He wasn't sure what good an apology was going to do; this guy didn't seem too fond of 'the hocus-pocus' as he'd called it.

The clerk made an irritated noise, and then pulled Sam from the trunk by his jacket, dropping him onto the road.

Sam landed on his chest, but quickly rolled over, looking up at his captor, who now had a small hand gun trained on Sam's chest.

"You so much as try and move, and I'll put a bullet in you, demon or no demon, got it?" The man said warningly. Sam nodded quickly, though he didn't understand what demons had to do with it. Maybe he wasn't supposed to be hurt or something, though that didn't make much sense.

So Sam just laid there and watched while the clerk heaved a spare tyre from one side of the trunk (no wonder Sam had been so squashed in there), rolled it around, and proceeded to change tyres.

Sam realized he had tears in his eyes, and tried to blink them away before the clerk turned his attention back to him. He wondered if they were from the pain in his head or the fear of being put back in the trunk. Either way, neither possibility seemed to be going away any time in the near future.

All too soon, the tyre change was done, and the blown tyre was rolled to the side of the road, where the clerk left it. Then he turned to Sam, who had done as he was told and remained still the entire time.

"Are you going to get in yourself or do I have to lift you in?" The clerk demanded, gesturing towards the open trunk with his gun. Wanting to avoid as much physical contact with his captor as possible, Sam struggled to his feet, and walked unsteadily over to the car. He hesitantly tried to climb back into the trunk, but ended falling practically head-first into it. After a moment of manoeuvring using mostly his leg, he managed to get himself in as comfortable position as he could be in the small space.

With a grunt, the clerk slammed the door down on Sam, throwing him once more into darkness. With a small gulp, Sam closed his eyes. It was easier to pretend the darkness wasn't there if he couldn't see it. Or more, if couldn't see that he was, for all intents and purposes, completely blind.

-;-

Jim and Elkins had been tracking the demons for the better part of the day before finally getting somewhere. That somewhere happened to be a cemetery, surprise, surprise.

To be more specific, one of the crypts near the back of the cemetery. And then down through the bottom of one of the caskets into a hidden passageway. What was it with demons and hidden passageways under caskets?

It had now become obvious that some of the demons had broke off from the original group and led Jim and Elkins away from the right tunnel. In the end they had become lost.

They'd been walking for almost an hour maybe (the tunnels continued to crisscross through each other) before the tunnel opened out into a large chamber, which turned out to be a dead end. To their left was a plain stone table that seemed to be set up as an altar. To their right was a single tall, stone pillar, just wide enough for person to reach around and put their hands together around the other side.

"I think we may have found the ceremony room." Jim said. He expected a grunt of agreement from Elkins; the man certainly wasn't one for words. But all he was met with was silence. He turned around, but there was nobody there. "Elkins?" He said, looking around. "Daniel?" He spun around, hearing something moving behind him. Nothing was there.

"Who's there?" He called. Another flash of movement, but when he turned to it, it was gone. It moved like a shadow, but he could almost feel it nearby. It was definitely more then a mere shadow.

He pulled a consecrated dagger from his belt. Even with their apparent invulnerability to physical harm, just about any demon he knew of would back down if stabbed with this particular dagger.

He heard someone coming up behind him. He spun around, raising the dagger in preparation for the demon's attack – and found himself face-to-face with his niece, who had a somewhat surprised look on her face, eyes focused on the dagger. Jim took a deep breath slouching back against the wall while Laura continued to stare at the dagger.

"Were you going to stab me?" She asked.

"I didn't know it was you," Jim said. Laura nodded, as if satisfied. Jim suddenly realized something. "Aren't you supposed to be with Sam?" He asked, straightening up.

"Yeah. Those Winchesters can't go anywhere without attracting demonic attention." Laura said. Jim frowned, but guessed that the demons had attacked and Laura had been brought here. She must've escaped, seeing as there didn't appear to be any demons nearby. "Where's Elkins?" She asked, as if only just now realizing the vampire hunter was nowhere in sight.

"To be honest… I'm not sure." Jim said, glancing around the room. "Well, actually, I have a suspicion. I just hope I'm wrong."

"A suspicion?" Laura asked, clearly intrigued. Jim glanced at his niece, and then nodded.

"John spoke with me this morning, before we split up." He explained. "He suspected that the Demon had possessed one of our comrades. And…" He glanced around, as if expecting Elkins to suddenly materialize out of thin air. "I think our old friend is said comrade." He looked over at Laura, and caught a brief look of concern on her face before she nodded.

"So, Elkins, possessed by a demon…" She said.

"Not _a_ demon." Jim said, and Laura looked up. "_The _Demon." Laura raised an eyebrow; judging by the look on her face, she actually found the idea… well, she didn't seem worried, that was for sure. "What is it?" Jim asked.

"Oh, I just think it's funny to think that the Demon would waste time possessing a washed up old vampire hunter like Daniel Elkins." She said with a shrug. Now it was Jims turn to raise an eyebrow, confused by his niece's attitude. Laura just continued to smile in a non-committal way.

-;-

Sam had never actually travelled in the trunk of a car before. Sure, Dean had threatened to do it to him on more then one occasion, but he had never followed through on the threat (although he came rather close at one point when Sam was sixteen). A part of Sam now wished he had, so at least he'd have been prepared for it, and maybe even know how to deal with how suffocatingly close the walls around him were.

He was afraid to try and use the telekinesis again. Even if he had known how to properly trigger it, he was unsure if he would. Something the clerk had said when he'd opened the trunk.

"_That hocus-pocus you people like to do."_

_You people._ As far as he was concerned, there didn't seem to be a difference between Sam and the demons the guy was working with. A thought that had occurred to Sam on more then one occasion. Where did these gifts come from? Were they good, or bad? The pain Sam was continually assault with every time he got a vision or used his telekinesis (Admittedly, he'd only used that a couple of times) had him leaning frighteningly towards bad.

And that scared him, because he didn't want to be bad. He didn't want to be a tool of the Demon he'd hunted his whole life. Tears returned unbidden to his eyes, and he tried to wipe them away without thinking, which brought him crashing back to reality as a burning pain shot through him as the ropes dug into the already raw flesh of his wrists. He gave a small whimper of pain and then bit down on his tongue to keep from making anymore noise.

He was so busy trying to ignore the many points of pain in his body that it took him a minute to realize they'd stopped again. And he thought he heard voices just outside, though they were muffled by the thickness of the trunk. He strained to hear what they were saying, but the actual words were lost on him. One of the voices, which sounded female, sounded a little angry though.

A moment later, the trunk was once again opened, and Sam let out an exasperated groan despite the situation he was in.

"As if this night couldn't get any worse." He muttered. Meg smiled down at him.

"Oh, that's so nice of you to say, Sam." She said mock-cheerfully. "Although I must admit, I'm a little disappointed. The fact that you're stuck in the trunk of a car doesn't say much about your hunting skills. Did you even know my little… friend was behind you before he stuck that big ugly think into your head?" A muscle in Sam's jaw twitched, but he didn't say anything.

"Hey, I've got a deadline here." Said the clerk irritably from up the front of the car. Meg sighed.

"We've got plenty of time," she said in a bored voice. She turned her attention back to Sam, who seemed to be much more interesting. He wasn't sure yet if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "I ran into your brother, Sam." She said, and he looked up before he could stop himself. "He's…" She seemed to be searching for the right word. "… changed, since the last time I saw him."

"What did you do to him?" Sam demanded, trying to sound more confident then he felt. Meg raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on, Sammy, I say he's changed and you automatically assume I had something to do with it?" Meg asked, pretending to be hurt. "What did I ever do to deserve such horrible suspicions?"

"Well, let's start with the bit where you captured my brother and me and tried to use us as bait to lure our father into a trap, and work forward from there." Sam said, glaring at her. Meg smiled.

"Ah, yes. Good times." She said with a mocking smile, as if reliving fond memories. After a minute, she turned her gaze back on Sam. "Well, as much as I'd like to keep chatting with you, what our friend up the front said was true. There is a deadline, and you really don't want to see the boss if we're late…" She stared down at Sam, "… especially for something as important as this." Sam swallowed, not liking the way she'd been looking at him when she said those last few words.

She raised her hands to lower the top of the trunk back down, and Sam cringed involuntarily. Meg raised an eyebrow, a twisted smile spreading on her lips. "Aw, is little Sammy afraid of the dark?" She asked a childish voice, crouching down so her face was closer to Sam's. "Would he like to sit up front with the grown ups?" She taunted him. Sam glared at her, but didn't say anything. She licked her lips. "If I hadn't already had my fill of Winchester testosterone, you'd be on the backseat already." She said. Sam's eyebrows rose in spite of himself; what did she mean by that?

'_Her fill of Winchester testosterone'?_ He thought, not really sure he wanted to know what she meant.

"What's it gonna be, Sammy?" She asked. Sam tried to turn away from her, to hide the fact that in some deep, dark, twisted corner of his mind, some part of him was attracted to Meg. Or at least enjoyed her attention. Sam tried very hard to pretend that part of him didn't exist.

But Meg reached down and held him by the chin so he was forced to look at her. "Well?" She demanded. He tried unsuccessfully to suppress shudder as she ran a sharp fingernail down his cheek, just heavy enough to be painful but not actually break the skin.

And then he wrenched his head from her grip, his face set in a mask of determination. "I'll take my chances with the dark." He said, though inside he dreaded having the trunk closed again. A muscle in Meg's jaw twitched, and she got to her feet.

"Suit yourself," She said coldly, and then gave Sam wicked smile. "Nightey-night." She said, and closed the trunk of the car down on Sam, plunging him once more into darkness.

-;-

How long they'd been travelling through the every crisscrossing tunnels, Jim wasn't sure. They'd left the ceremony chamber rather hurriedly (no telling how soon the Demon planned on arriving), perhaps a little too hurriedly, as they appeared to have become utterly lost.

Or so Jim thought, until Laura suddenly pulled him back down the tunnel they'd just come through, just as a group of voices reached his ears. What they were saying, he couldn't quite make out, but he could tell they were excited about something.

"Demons?" He guessed, glancing at Laura, who nodded, putting a finger to her lips and backing against the wall of the tunnel. She gestured in the direction of the voices, and it was clear she intended to hide; probably the smart thing to do, considering there was definitely more then one, and even together, he and Laura probably wouldn't have stood much chance against a _single_ demon.

And he'd had every intention of keeping to the shadows as Laura was, until the demons came into his line of vision. His eyes widened when he saw who the two demons were supporting between them.

"Sam." He whispered. The youngest Winchester appeared to be unconscious, his feet dragged behind him as the demons carried him down the tunnel. Tightening his hold on the dagger, he tried to think of a way to catch the demons by surprise, as well as how to subdue them without risking getting Sam hurt.

"What do you think you're doing?" Laura demanded, staring at her uncle, clearly surprised he wasn't hiding.

"They have Sam with them." Jim stated, and Laura looked over to see that they did indeed have Sam. She turned back to her uncle. "Well, we can't just leave him with them." Jim said. Laura bit her lip, glancing back at the demons.

They had lowered to the ground Sam to the ground and disappear down one of the tunnels, though Jim doubted they were going to be gone for very long.

"Now's our chance." He said, moving past Laura. "We can hopefully get him out of here before they get back." He'd taken only a few steps when he felt Laura hand on his shoulder. She spun him around, staring straight into his eyes.

"I can't let you do that." She said, not breaking eye contact. He gave her a confused look. Without batting an eyelash, Laura raised a jagged-bladed knife. Jim's eyes widened in shock as he saw the knife, a split second later, Laura had plunged it straight into the side his neck.

He gasped in shock, blood pouring from the open wound as she pulled the knife back out of him. "Goodnight, _Uncle_," She sneered as he fell from her grip, dead within seconds of hitting the ground.

She stared down at her uncles body for a few seconds, her eyes filled with a sick, twisted hunger, and she licked her lips. Then she blinked, and when her eyes opened again, her pupils were a horrid, sickly yellow.

-;-

**A/N: Chapter 7 finished, and it turned out better then I expected. A little piece of trivia: the little ending between Laura and Jim was inspired by the episode of Angel where Cordelia kills Lilah. In fact, Laura was actually based on Cordelia. Don't look at me like that, I thought she was cool when she was evil! Creepy, but cool.**

**Now, I hope there aren't too many problems with me killing Pastor Jim. I mean, come on, he was killed within the first five minutes of the first episode he was in on the show, it should've been obvious he was on borrowed time (or something like that) in this story. And it just seemed like the ideal way to reveal just who (or more, what) Laura is. Please tell me, how obvious did I make it (even in the first part of this chapter that she was in) that she was possessed? I hope it wasn't too obvious, I like to have surprises like that and they're never as fun if I'm not good at covering them up.**

**But anyway, moving on from the business with Laura, what did y'all think of the chapter in general? I realized a large part of it was spent in the trunk of a car… don't ask me why I felt the need to do that, I just thought it'd be fun to make good on the threats Dean seems to throw at Sam every few fics I read (did that sentence make sense?). I think I know what's going to be happening in the next chapter (if I'm right it shouldn't take too long to get it done).**


	9. Liberation

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Supernatural in any way. I do own Haley Winchester and Laura Whitman.

**Author's Note**: This chapter and the next chapter happen at approximately the same time.

**Review Answers**:

_EmSyd_ – Glad you think so. Here's more. Do you now? Lol, well, no more in this story.

_Spuffyshipper_ – Thank you, and yeah, I agree. If this doesn't do it, lol, I have future plans that will, hehe.

_The Kiss of Death_ – Yeah, she was. Here's more. Yay, thanks.

_The Great and Powerful Oz_ – Yeah, I knew that if anything was going to give it away, it'd be that line. And still I left it in there. Don't know why, lol. Good, so long as that's all ya do, lol.

_Ghostwriter_ – Thank you, glad you liked it.

**Chapter 8**: Liberation

"This is where you 'sensed' Sam?" John asked, looking out the window of his truck at the place Haley had directed them to.

"A little less sarcasm and scepticism would be appreciated." Haley said irritably. She, too, was looking out her window. "Yes, this is the place he was at when I felt him."

"Haley, it's the middle of nowhere." John stated. And it truly nearly was. Aside from the long stretch of road, there didn't appear to be anything besides that flat tyre a few meters back from where they'd stopped. Haley sighed, opened the door of the truck, and dropped down to the road, landing safely on her feet.

"I realize that," she said. "But this is definitely the place. Missouri?" She looked up as Missouri also climbed down from the truck (perhaps not the ideal vehicle for the two rather short women). The old psychic frowned, holding out her hands and closing her eyes. Haley bit her lip, staring longingly at the long stretch of road.

_I wish I could do that,_ she thought. Then she remembered something. _Maybe I can. _She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she reached outwards, trying to do what she'd done when she'd met the Heart of Gold spirit. She took in another deep breath, trying to strip away the outer layers of what she saw and felt.

She opened her eyes – and saw the road, Missouri, and now John, exactly as they had been when she'd closed her eyes. "Damn." She muttered.

"Okay, he was here," Missouri suddenly said, standing not far back from the tyre that had been dumped. Haley looked over, and saw Missouri's hands hovering over the tyre for a minute. "I can feel… power." She said. "And fear… lots of fear… and…" She frowned, moving past the tyre, her hands coming up as if she was pushing aside a curtain. She turned back to Haley. "You." She stated.

"Me?" Haley asked. Missouri nodded, turning her back to John and Haley once more.

"Your presence. It's vague, almost unrecognisable, and incredibly weak, but it's there." She frowned again, biting her lip, before turning back around. "I don't think it was just your doing that allowed you to sense Sam across such a distance." Haley raised an eyebrow, and Missouri continued. "I think Sam may have had a hand in it to. I think, somehow, he may have reached out to you." She sighed. "That poor boy. He was absolutely terrified." She said, shaking her head. Haley nodded. It had definitely been no picnic, waking up in such a small, closed in space like that. Judging from the tyre, she was guessing it must've been the trunk of a car. Unfortunately, all she could do right now was hope it was a large car.

"Okay, we'll head back to Missouri's house," John said. "I'll call Bobby and Caleb; they're bound to be finished their jobs by now. With any luck, Dean won't be far off. Once he gets back, we can figure out what to do about finding Sam."

"What about Jim and Elkins?" Haley asked. "And Laura, what do you think happened to her when they got Sam?" John frowned, and Haley felt something akin to guilt before John managed to smother it like he did every other emotions he felt. She narrowed her eyes. "What aren't you telling me?" She asked, her hand on her hips. John glanced at Missouri, but she sighed and gave a nod. John turned back to Haley.

"Pastor Jim is dead, and so is Daniel Elkins." John said. "Missouri… felt it."

"She felt it?" Haley asked, turning a surprised look in Missouri's direction. That seemed a little… big, even for Missouri.

"It is," Missouri said, and Haley could have hit herself for actually thinking that. But at least Missouri seemed to agree. "I was as surprised by it as you are." She frowned. "I… I think that maybe the Demon had something to do with it. I think it might've wanted us to know it's killed them."

"And what about Laura?" Haley asked.

"Well… we have no idea where Laura is or even if she's still alive." John said. "We don't even know if she was with Sam when he was taken." Haley narrowed her eyes at John further, trying to feel if he was hiding anything else. If he was, he was keeping it hidden a lot better then the last one. "Come on, we should probably head back." He said. After a minute, Haley nodded, turning and walking back to the truck.

"A little help please." She called when she got there, remembering how high it was, and how short and, as much as she hated to admit it, incapable she was at this point in time.

-;-

"I'm just saying, I think it's strange that neither of them are answering their cells." Missouri said as they got up to the front door of her house.

"Chances are they were following some demons and couldn't afford to answer," John said. "They're both very capable hunters."

"So was Daniel Elkins, look what happened to him." Missouri said. She reached out to unlock the door, but her hand froze just as she was about to put the key in the lock.

"What?" Haley asked. "What is it?" Without saying anything, Missouri, dropped the keys back into her pocket, reached down, and turned the doorknob, pushing the door open.

"Someone's already here." She said. At that moment, Haley gasped, doubling over as all the air was forced from her lungs. Without hesitation, John and Missouri both entered the house, leaving Haley on the front porch. She glared at their backs.

"Yeah, that's right, no one worry about the pregnant woman." She said. "I've just had the wind knocked out of me, I'll be fine." She took a step back and leaned against the porch railing, taking deep breaths.

Nothing seemed out of place in the waiting room, though the door leading into the main part of the house was closed. John reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun when he saw the doorknob start to move.

"No, wait," Missouri said, putting a hand on John's arm as the door swung open – and Dean stepped through, gun raised. He saw John and Missouri, and then Haley over their shoulders, and relaxed, lowering the gun, giving a small sigh of relief before flashing his father a proud smile.

"You're just in time, Dad," He said. John raised an eyebrow, and for a fleeting moment thought perhaps his son had been possessed. Missouri slapped his arm.

"Don't think crazy," She snapped, turning back to Dean. "What are we just in time for, Dean?" She asked. Dean's smile seemed to get a little less warm, and he stepped aside, giving them a view of the living room. The curtains were closed, letting no light (or the sight of nosey neighbours).

"We were just about to interrogate Meg." He said. Missouri and John both saw her, crouched down on the ground, eyes blazing, her arms wrapped around her stomach. That explained why Haley had suddenly become winded for no apparent reason. But it didn't explain…

"How?" John asked. If she had fallen fro ma seven story building and then just gotten up and walked away, how the hell had Dean managed to knock the wind out of her. Dean seemed to have been anticipating the question, and pointed towards the ceiling above Meg. John and Missouri both looked up, and saw one of the protective circles Bobby was so fond of mentioning, drawn onto it.

"That had better not be permanent." Missouri said, walking passed Dean into the kitchen. Well, it wasn't like he'd actually be expecting congratulations from her. He turned hopefully towards his father.

"Are Bobby and Caleb here?" Was all John asked. Dean's eyebrow twitched, and he bit his lip. After a minute, he nodded.

"They're… they're in the kitchen looking for salt." He said, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. John either didn't notice what he couldn't hide, or didn't care. He simply nodded, and walked passed Dean as well. "I guess I'll go help Haley." He said, heading out onto the front porch.

Haley looked up as Dean stepped out of the house, and was hit by several different (and very confusing) emotions at once. Disgust, shame, anger, resentment, disappointment… she almost felt like she'd been winded again as they all assaulted her at once. With a little effort, she pushed it all back, giving Dean a small, reassuring smile, and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I think you did well." She said. Dean gave her a small half smile. Not much, but the appreciation she _felt _spoke volumes. It was clear he was disappointed his father hadn't even commented on what he'd done. Not that he'd helped just to get his father's attention; it just would've been nice to get a little acknowledgment. "Come on," Haley said, breaking into his thoughts. "We have a demon to interrogate. And I, for one, have a few bones to pick with Meg regarding my husband."

-;-

Once more, the remaining group of hunters split up. John, Missouri and Caleb all left in John's truck. Where they were going, or what they were doing, none of them cared to explain. So that left Dean, Haley and Bobby to deal with Meg. While Haley and Bobby finished salting the doors and windows (mostly windows; who'd have thought one house could have so many?) Dean set to work on restraining Meg while she was still recovering from having _all_ her power neutralized by the circle, instead of just the meta-physical ones like at Pastor Jim's church.

She smiled tauntingly at Dean as he sat down on the couch after finishing tying her to the chair he'd dragged out of the kitchen. "You know, if you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask." She said. Dean's face was a mask of indifference. He just watched her, waiting for Haley and Bobby to return.

"Okay, all windows on this side of the house have been salted." Bobby said as he entered the room.

"As have all the windows on the other side." Haley said as she came in from the other side, taking a seat beside Dean, who nodded, getting to his feet and walking over to Meg. She continued to smile at him, like she didn't have a care in the world.

"Where's my brother, Meg?" He asked, working to keep his voice calm. Meg shrugged, continuing to smile. Dean gave her a smile of his own, one without a hint of warmth in it, and then backhanded her across the face. She let out a yelp of pain, but when she turned her head to stare at him, she was still smiling.

"You never hit me that hard when we were screwing each other." She said. Dean stiffened. Behind him, he heard Haley standing up.

"What?" She demanded.

"Oh, Dean didn't tell you?" Meg asked cheerily.

"Shut up." Dean warned.

"Deanie-boy's been banging the enemy." Meg continued.

"Since when?" Haley turned to Dean.

"Oh, only once." Meg said, acting completely innocent, like they were discussing dinner. "Last night, when I tried to kill him in ole' Jimmy's church." Unable to control himself any longer, Dean hit her a second time, even harder then the first.

"Dean." Bobby said warningly. Dean glanced over his shoulder, and Bobby nodded towards the kitchen. Dean glanced back at Meg.

"Don't go anywhere." He said, like she wasn't tied to a chair and stuck in a 'demonic roach motel' as Bobby had called it earlier. He followed said demon hunter out of the room, feeling Meg's eyes following him all the way out of the room. He closed the door behind him.

"Listen, Bobby, I really don't need a lecture right now, I've got to find out where-"

"We can discuss your poor choice in women later." Bobby said. "I just thought I should remind you to be a little more careful with her."

"What?" Dean asked, confused.

"That's a girl you're hitting." Dean didn't look any less confused. "That's a human possessed by a demon, can't you tell?" Bobby asked. Dean bit his lip; no, he couldn't tell. He looked over his shoulder, almost as if he could see Meg through the walls. He turned back to Bobby.

"You trying to tell me there's an innocent girl trapped somewhere in there?" He asked. Bobby nodded, and Dean frowned, turning back to the door. "That's actually good news." He said, walking back into the living room. Haley was standing a meter or so away from Meg, and the two women seemed locked in a staring contest. Or more, a glaring contest. If looks could kill, both Meg and Haley would be dying slow, painful deaths right now.

"Haley, where's the journal?" Dean asked. Haley glanced over at Dean, before leaving the room to get the journal. She was clearly not happy about learning that her brother-in-law was having sex with a demon. Well, Dean probably wouldn't be either, if he was in her shoes. Hell, he was still disgusted and furious with himself for letting it happen, even though he still wasn't sure exactly how it _had_ happened.

Haley returned a moment later, journal in hand. Meg smiled calmly. "Are you going to read me a story?" She asked.

"No." Dean said. He nodded at Haley, who already seemed to know what he wanted. He leaned forward so his face was inches from Meg's face. "We're going to send you to hell." He said. She raised an eyebrow. "Unless you tell me where Sam is." She smiled smugly at him, but didn't say anything. Dean shrugged. "Suit yourself." He said, and turned to Haley, who seemed a little too happy about what she was about to do.

"_EGO expulsum vos, turpis unus…_" She began. Meg turned a disbelieving look in Haley's direction.

"An exorcism?" She asked, turning back to Dean. "Are you serious?"

"Fairly." Dean said with a nod.

"… _per preces superum ut ingredior is terra quod repo subter supter is._" Haley finished the first verse, and both she and Dean noticed the discomfort Meg was starting to feel, which was a sure sign that the first part of the exorcism had succeeded.

"Where's Sam?" Dean asked. Meg smiled coldly at him. Dean felt his resolve to be a little more gentle begin to crack. "Where is he? Where'd you take him?" Okay, shatter; so Meg did not exactly bring out the best in him, she probably had that effect on all the men she screwed, figuratively and literally. And if just that wasn't enough to drive him over the edge, that smug smile she kept giving him certainly was.

"Haley." He said, trying to sound calm, not taking his eyes off Meg. Haley turned her attention back to the journal.

"_Permissum incendia damnatio vindicatum vos._" Haley said. Meg was struggling to stay calm; her skin was turning sickly pale, and sweat had started to bead down her face. "_Permissum turpis creatura_-" Meg let out a gasp as a spasm of pain shot through her body, and Haley stopped, giving her the chance to say something.

"He's dead." She said, turning a cruel smile on Dean. "Even as we speak, my Master's drinking from him; draining him of his blood." Haley looked just about ready to hit Meg herself. But one look at Dean told her it would be a better idea to continue the exorcism.

"_Permissum turpis creatura persolvo pro vitium insquequo orbis terrarum effrego._" She seemed to be pulled further into a trance with each word that left her lips. Around them glass started to crack and shatter; lights flickered; books began opening, flicking through the pages at rapid speeds, seemingly on their own. And with each word, Meg's physical condition seemed to deteriorate. She was now sweating profusely; her eyes were bloodshot, her face was almost ashen white, and each breath seemed to be a struggle to take in.

"Last chance." Dean said as Haley finished the second verse. Meg glared at him, and for a minute, she looked like she was going to give in. Then she spat in his face. Out of pure reflex, Dean threw his fist forward, connecting with Meg's chin. Her head snapped back and she cried out in pain.

When she lowered her head back down, there was a snarl on her lips. "I'm gonna kill you. Both of you." She added, turning to look at Haley for a second before turning back to Dean. "I'm gonna serve your hearts to my master on plates made from your own bones." She growled.

"Haley!" Dean said, a little angrier then he had meant to. Haley didn't seem to notice. She wasn't even looking at the journal now.

"_Audite mihi iam, everto._" She chanted fluently, like it was the language she'd grown up using. "_EGO to order vos, licentia is vas._" Meg cried out as pain shot through her body and her chair began to move rapidly across the floor, coming to the edge of the protective circle and seeming to bounce away from it like it had come up against an invisible wall. "S_olvo is ex vestri indignus habitum._"

"No!" Meg cried. Haley blinked, and the trance lifted. Meg slouched in her chair, her breaths fast and shallow. "He's not dead… not yet." She whispered, her whole body shaking. Dean stared at her, waiting for her to continue and trying hard not to notice how Meg's bleach-blond was standing on end.

"Where is he?" Dean demanded.

"I don't know." She answered.

"Haley-!"

"The cemetery." She gasped. "There's a crypt… made of black stone…" She took in a deep, shaky breath, which ended in a sob. "The casket at the back… it has a false-floor… it'll lead to a passage…" She looked up at Dean. "That's the last place I saw him before I came here for you." She said. Dean narrowed his eyes.

"That's all I know, I swear." She stared up at him pleadingly. Slowly, he nodded, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finish it." Dean ordered Haley.

"What?" Meg gasped, looking back at him, terror in her eyes. "I told you the truth."

"I don't care!" Dean stated coldly, so much so he even scared Bobby. He turned to Haley. "Finish it!" He repeated. Haley nodded, looking back down at the journal.

"You'll kill her." Bobby said. Haley's gaze snapped over to where he stood. Dean was a lot slower, turning around to face him.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You said she fell from a building," Bobby said, glancing over at Meg. He turned back to Dean. "That girl's body is broken. The only thing keeping her alive is that demon inside." He stated. "You exorcize it, the girl is gonna die-"

"So, what, I'm supposed to just let that thing stay inside of her?" Dean asked.

"She is a human being."

"So we'll put her out of her misery." Dean said, his stare so hard that Bobby backed down, turning away from him. Dean turned back to Haley. "Do it." He said. Slowly, reluctantly, she nodded, turning back down to read the words from the journal.

"_Audite mihi iam, everto._" She said. Meg cried out in pain, and the chair started to move again. "_EGO to order vos, licentia is vas._" The chair landed right in the centre of the circle. Meg's head snapped down to her chest, and then back up again, her eyes now a dark, charcoal-black.

"It doesn't matter." She growled as Haley continued to chant. Her face seemed to stretch, change, becoming less human. Her whole body was shaking from head to toe with the effort of staying in control. "There's more like me. Hundreds more. They will hunt you down like the vermin you are. My death will not go unavenged." Dean stared coldly right into her black, soulless eyes.

"Then I'll see you in hell." He said, his voice devoid of emotion.

"_Audite mihi iam, everto._" Haley continued. "_EGO to order vos, licentia is vas, solvo is ex vestri indignus habitum. Operor is iam._"

A single second passed where the two of them just stared at each other, where everything else seemed to fade away. In that time, Dean saw the demon that controlled Meg; the creature he had slept with, in its native form. A dark, soulless beast that seemed to look right into his soul, where it would spend the rest of his life tormenting him for what he'd done.

"_Operor is iam_!"

And then the second passed, and Meg's head snapped back, a black shroud rushing out of her mouth. It lasted for almost ten seconds, and Meg was screaming the entire time as the demon was almost literally ripped from her body. And when it ended, she slumped forward, the effects of her injuries hitting her hard and fast.

"Meg?" Dean whispered.

-;-

**A/N: And that is it for another chapter, ladies and gentlemen. I actually wrote most of this chapter (from about where Haley and Bobby came back into the room after salting all the windows) ages ago, near the beginning of Eye of the Storm. I realize it went a lot like the exorcism on the show, but that was because I liked it. The exorcism itself is mine though, written from scratch and then translated to Latin using an online translator. Review and let me know what you think. And let me know if you think Meg should live or die? I've already made the decision, but I want to know what you guys think should happen. **


	10. Desperate Choices

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Supernatural in any way. I do own Haley Winchester and Laura Whitman.

**Author's Note**: This chapter and the previous chapter happen at approximately the same time, in case you'd forgotten. Also, a little trivia about the demons (at least here in this 'verse). In their native form (black smoky substance mostly, and the thing Dean saw when Meg was exorcized), they are genderless, and referred to as 'it'. When they possess someone, it felt weird writing 'it' still, so I just started referring to them as the gender of whoever they'd possessed. That's why the Demon is suddenly female; because it's possessing Laura. I realize that could be how it is anyway and I've only just realized it, just thought I'd mention it in case it isn't.

Hmmm, now that it's finished I'm not sure if I like it. But it's the best I can do at the moment, so I hope ya'll enjoy it anyway. If not, well... hopefully the next chapter will be an improvement.

**Review Answers**:

_Spuffyshipper _– Thank you, here's the update. One for Meg's survival. Good reason for it, too.

_EmSyd _– Thank you. Yeah, it is, hehe. Wonder what I'll do. Well, I already know, but I'm sure somebody's wondering.

_Kiss of Death_ – Two for Meg's survival. Things are looking up for everyone's favourite hellspawn (I don't know why I just said that).

_Ghostwriter_ – Thank you, good to know.

**Chapter 9**: Desperate Choices

Sam opened his eyes with a start, gasping for air. After a minute of panic, he realized he was no longer in the trunk of the car, and that could only be an improvement, right?

Wrong. At least in the trunk, as suffocating as it had been, he'd known it was only him in there. The fact his hands were still tied behind his back (and now around the back of a large pillar of some sort, causing his arms to stretch to their limits and making movement next-to-impossible) told him he was still being held captive, and since he was now in such a large, rather dark place, he had no idea if he had company or not, which, in his opinion, meant his situation had definitely not improved.

"They hurt, don't they?" Sam looked up suddenly, and saw Laura stepping out of the shadows into his line of sight.

"Laura," he breathed. "I thought you were… no, never mind, we have to get out of here."

"They don't have to hurt, you know." She continued as if he hadn't even spoken, walking slowly up to him, a slightly perplexed look on her face. "Why do you fight them, Sam? They were given to you as a gift." She reached out, her fingertips brushing his face, but Sam shied away from her touch.

"What're you talking about?" He asked, turning a confused look on the other hunter. "Laura, there's no time. Untie me, we need to go." A trace of a smile formed on Laura's lips; a pitying smile, like she knew something terrible that he didn't, and probably didn't want to. "What's wrong with you?" Sam asked, now feeling, not just confused, but a little concerned.

"You're not going anywhere, Sam." Laura said, and gave him a real smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Leaning forward, so that her lips were right up to his ear, she whispered, "Not until I'm finished with you." His eyes widened, and she pulled back.

"It's you," he gasped. Laura blinked, and her eyes went from honey-brown to sickly yellow, and her smile lost its warmth. "We've been hunting you a long time." He said, staring at the Demon with malice in his eyes. She just grinned, climbing to her feet and taking a step back from him.

"We who?" She asked. Looking around as if looking for someone. Sam couldn't help but look around as well, though he already knew there was no one else in the room. There was just Sam, and Laura, who happened to be possessed by the Demon he'd spent the better part of his life hunting. "That's right Sam," she said, turning back to Sam. "You're on your own. There's no one to pull you away from me at the last minute this time." She leaned down, pressing his shoulders against the cold stone of the pillar behind him. "There's just you… and me." She said, and then, grabbing a handful of his hair, she pressed their lips together.

For a few moments, all Sam could do was sit there, frozen in shock while Laura's tongue explored the inside of his mouth. Then he recovered his senses, and the first thing he did was try and kick her off of him. She responded by pinning his legs down with her own.

"We finish…" the Demon said breathily, pulling back, "… when I say we finish, got it?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No-" Sam started, but he was cut off as her lips slammed into his again. When he tried to fight her off again, he felt something move between them, and the next thing he knew, he was being held in place by some unseen force. After a minute of fighting in vain against whatever held him, he just gave up, sagging against the pillar. The Demon obviously felt this, and whatever had been holding Sam instantly lifted.

"There, that wasn't so hard now, what it?" She asked, licking her lips as she moved off him and got slowly to her feet. Sam groaned, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

"What is it with you demons and your insatiable need to treat me like a sex toy?" He said, meaning it more as a rhetorical question then anything else.

"Oh, it's probably those sweet, innocent eyes and the too-long hair and the…" She noticed the sceptical look on his face. "Yeah, you're right." She said. "It's just because you're there and you're so…" She stopped. "Well, the word attractive leaps to mind." The Demon frowned. "I'm thinking this body isn't as dead as it's supposed to be." Sam raised an eyebrow, confused for a minute. Then he thought he understood.

"Laura's still in the coma." He said. The Demon looked at him with a pleased smile.

"Very good, Sammy-boy. Top marks." She said mockingly. Sam glared at her. "Oh come on. Just because we're bitter enemies, doesn't mean we can't be civil to each other."

"Yeah, and sticking your tongue in my mouth is really civil." Sam said sarcastically. The next second, Laura was right in front of him, backhanding him across the face.

"Watch your tongue, boy, or I'll rip it out of your mouth." She snarled, her eyes flickering yellow for a second before returning to normal. Sam's mouth snapped shut; he had no doubt she was totally serious. "I'm not some common demon you can mouth off to whenever you feel like. I'm not Meg." She added, and a muscle in Sam's jaw twitched. The Demon sneered. "Not all of us are worried about ruining that pretty face of yours, Sammy." She hissed, reaching out and running the tips of her fingers down his cheek.

The young hunter whimpered slightly as her fingernails dug into his skin, leaving behind four bloody lines, but clamped his mouth shut again to keep from making anymore noises.

Then, as if to freak him out even more, Laura leaned forward and licked his cheek, her tongue like razors against the fresh cuts. He winced, but nothing more, and once she'd finished licking his wound, she pulled back.

"Consider that an appetizer." She said, wiping her lips with the back of her hand as if to catch any blood she may have missed. Sam looked up at her, and there was genuine fear in his eyes.

"What do you mean… appetizer?" He asked tentatively, not really sure he wanted to know. The Demon smiled mirthlessly down at him.

"No one told you?" She asked, and Sam knew she was mocking him, enjoying his lack of knowledge of what was going on. "You're what I need, Sam." She said. "You're what I've been looking for." Sam's eyes widened as he started to figure out what she was talking about. "Your blood's going to be on her hands. The blood of her heart." Her smile vanished, and she just stared at him condemningly. "The blood of her love." Sam was staring up at her, not wanting to believe it. "How does it feel, Sam, to know your blood's going to be what restores me to my previous power?" She asked.

-;-

Sam had the distinct impression that the sun had set some time ago, by the way the shadows seemed to have gotten a lot more menacing. Some of them, much to his horror, seemed to be literally moving.

As scared as he was, there was something else Sam found was getting harder and harder to deal with: boredom. Laura had left him alone at least an hour earlier, and aside from being scared silly every few minutes when one of the shadows moved just a little to fast across the wall, Sam had nothing to do except sleep.

Which he failed miserably at. Five minutes into his attempt at sleep brought him to the conclusion he was too well rested from being unconscious, to even consider sleep being an option. So here he was, bored out of his skull and wondering if the next time the shadows moved, they were going to come over and tear him apart (a bad experience with daevas will do that to a person).

"Having fun?" Sam looked up as the Demon walked back into the large room. She'd changed out of the clothes she'd been wearing, now dressed in a simple black dress. He didn't answer her, and turned his head to look in another direction. A frown appear on his lips when he saw what appeared at first glance to be a table, but upon closer inspection (or second glance, since Sam couldn't get closer) actually turned out to be an altar, the contents of which seemed vaguely familiar to Sam, and not in a good way.

"Admiring my work?" The Demon asked conversationally, noticing Sam was looking at the altar. Sam shook his head quickly, turning to look at the Demon without thinking. His eyes locked with Laura's, and he suddenly found himself unable to look away. Her lips twisted into a smile, and she moved slowly forwards, stopping just a couple of feet in front of him, and sat down.

Sam bit his lip, but after a minute decided he needed to know. "What is it?" He asked. The Demon gave him a questioning look, then glanced over at the altar, and then back at Sam, who nodded meekly.

"You recognize it, don't you?" She asked. After a minute, he nodded again, and the Demon gave him a mirthless smile. "Think hard, Sam. Where have you seen that set-up before?" Sam narrowed his eyes, trying to remember.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of the shadows beginning to move along the wall again, and his eyes widened as it all fell into place.

"Daevas." He said. "You're summoning daevas." The Demon continued to smile, and gave him a small nod.

"Well, technically, they've already been summoned." She said. "They're just… dormant… at the moment, waiting for me to call them into service." Sam glanced nervously around the room. He'd only seen one move at any one time, but he knew there was definitely more then one, and somehow they didn't seem very dormant to him.

Noticing the worried look in Sam's eyes, the Demon gave a shrill laugh, sending shiver up Sam's spine. "Don't worry, Sam." She said, and would have almost sounded comforting had it not been her saying the words. "It's not you that the daeva's to play with. You're too… necessary." Getting to her feet, the Demon turned away from Sam and walked over to the altar. "No, I've got some… other's in mind."

Sam frowned, stared at Laura's back as she began chanting. It took him a couple of minutes, but just as Laura finished chanting the daevas began to move with purpose, leaving the room, Sam realized just where they were heading. As if reading his mind (who knows, maybe she could) the Demon looked over her shoulder at Sam.

"That's right." She said. "I'd say they'll be at the house in… oh, five minutes… ten at the most." She smiled coldly at Sam, who was staring at her with a mixture of horror and contempt in his eyes, angry tears beginning to well up and slide down his face.

"You want me to spare them. You want me to call the daevas off?" She knelt down in front of him, getting right up in his face. "Hmmm, Sammy?" Sam let out a small whimper and nodded his head.

She laughed; a low, hoarse noise that sounded strange coming from Laura's mouth. She turned back to the altar, staring into a shallow basin filled with human blood.

"Who would you spare? She asked. "Who, above all others, would you protect from the daevas?" Sam looked up.

"What?" He asked, not willing to hope. The Demon turned a cruel smile Sam's way.

"Do the math, Sammy." She said. "Two daevas. Three people." Sam's eyes widened. "Who would you choose?" He shook his head slowly. "The demon hunter?" She took a step towards him. "Big brother?" His's breath quickened; she was really going to make him choose? "Or your wife?"

"I…" He stared hopelessly at the Demon.

"Tick-tock, Sammy." She sneered. "Who's it gonna be?" He'd already made the choice. He'd known who he would choose before he was even asked the question. It was just making himself say it out loud. Making himself betray his family. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth.

"Haley…" He choked out, eyes squeezed shut, as if he could see Dean's face, the look of betrayal he felt sure would be there if Dean knew what Sam had just done. "Don't let them… kill Haley."

"Beg." The Demon ordered.

"What?"

"I want you to beg for her life." She said. "Come on, Sam, it's not that hard. And time's running out." Sam stared at her. "Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-"

"Okay, okay!" He cried, bowing his head. "Please don't kill her." There were tears in his eyes. "Please… please…" He bowed his head, sobbing softly. "Don't let them kill her." The Demon smiled through Laura's lips.

"That'll do." She said. "Okay, Sammy, the daevas won't kill her." She said, and Sam looked up. The amused smile on her lips told him he'd just made a big mistake. "But I'm sure Meg would love to." His eyes widened in horror when she said that.

"What-?"

"She's already on her way there." The Demon stated, turning away from him. "Congratulations, Sam. You just bought Haley a very slow, very painful death." Sam stared at her back. He couldn't believe it. He just… couldn't.

"Don't…" He sobbed.

"What?" The Demon asked, turning around to face him.

"Don't… hurt her." He whispered softly, his whole body shaking. The Demon just laughed, turning back to the altar.

"You're hardly in any position to be-" She faltered when she saw Sam raise his head, pure, uncontrolled hatred in his eyes directed straight at her.

"Don't hurt her." He repeated slowly. The room started to shake as he continued to glare at her, his eyes now devoid of all emotion. For an instant, the demon may have felt actual fear in the face of the raw power Sam was drawing on.

And then she realized just how little control Sam had over it. In his desperation to halt the daevas, he hadn't stopped to think about what he was doing. Acting purely on instinct, he'd reached out for whatever he could use. But it was fast becoming clear it was more then he could handle.

A small trail of blood was beginning to seep from one of his nostrils, his head felt as though it was being split open with a blunt axe, and his whole body was shaking so uncontrollably he felt sure he was going to just fall apart. But he pushed all of that aside, focusing outwards towards the altar. That was all that mattered; he had to stop the daevas. Then Dean would be able to protect Haley.

With a cry of pain and fury, he threw all he had at the table that served as the Demon's altar. He felt the power rush out of him as if he it had physically pulled away from him, and less then a second later, the table was lifted off the floor and thrown into the wall, dumping its contents on the floor.

"No!" The Demon shouted. Even as she did, an infuriated howl filled the room as the daevas, no longer bound by the Demon's spell, returned to the room to enact vengeance.

But unlike Meg, this demon was not afraid of a few shadow monsters. The Demon's hand snapped out as one of the monstrous shadows approached her own, and Sam saw the hand close around seemingly nothing, but the instant it did, the shadow stopped moving forward. A second later, there was a distinct tearing sound, and the shadow vanished from the wall a split second after it's head quite obviously separated from it's body.

"_Cohibeo_!" The Demon shouted, raising her hand to the ceiling. The howling turned to ferocious, enraged screaming, and the remaining daeva was pulled towards the spot right above the Demon's hand, as if being sucked into a vortex.

Sam had slumped forward as soon as the table had been dropped, the only thing holding him up was the rope holding his arms around the pillar, breathing in short, half-hearted gasps for air, feeling as though his head was going to fall off.

He groaned when he felt Laura's fingers become entangled in his hair, lifting his head so he was forced to look at her.

"You're not going to live to regret that," the Demon snarled. Sam winced as she pulled at his hair, emphasizing her point. Then she slammed his head against the pillar, as if he wasn't already dazed enough, letting go his hair, and walking around behind the pillar. A second later, Sam cried out in pain as he felt the ropes pull tight against his wrists, feeling like they were going to slice his hands off.

Mercifully, the ropes went slack, and to Sam's surprise, he slumped to the side, his hands free from their binding, more or less, which explained the pain. It seemed as though the Demon had simply pulled the ropes until it had snapped in two, releasing Sam.

But she was by no means finished with him. Walking back around, she rolled him onto his back, seeing as he was too physically and mentally exhausted to even consider the possibility of moving.

"You're lucky," she said coldly. "It's just about time for the ritual." She gave him a wicked, mirthless smile. "If it weren't… well, let's just say that you'd be begging me for death within minutes." And with that, she grabbed Sam's arm and began dragging him along the floor. Sam didn't say anything, didn't try to fight her. He didn't say the point, and anyway, he didn't think he could, even if he'd wanted to. So he just closed his eyes, and fell into merciful unconsciousness.

-;-

**A/N: Hehe, I've done it again. Who here thinks I'm actually going to kill Sam? Hmmm? Anyone? I hope this chapter wasn't too… er… the word cheesy leaps to mind, but I don't think it's the right word. Something along those lines anyway. I hope my portrayal of the Demon was okay, I didn't have much to work with, plus, in the show it possesses a man, not a woman, and I wanted it to act a little differently as a female then it does as a male. Anyway, let me know what ya'll think. Until next time, Cyas. **


	11. Pain Shared is Pain Halved

**Eye of the Storm**

**Beta'd by mysterychic. Thank you's to her.**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Supernatural in any way. I do own Haley Winchester and Laura Whitman.

**Author's Note**: I can honestly say, I'm surprised. I hadn't expected to have this many chapters at this point in the story, but it seems I'm better at filling it out then I thought; I expected this part of the story to be finished by chapter seven at best. My current estimate is that I'll end up with maybe fifteen chapters if I'm lucky, but then again, I said twenty-five with Heart of Gold and ended up with forty, so, who knows…

Possibly not my best chapter. Read on and let me know.

**Review Answers**:

_Spuffyshipper _– Thank you, have done, yes, have done (tired, not much imagination is going into these replies).

_EmSyd _– Thank you.

_Ghostwriter _– You think so? Won't be finding out in this chapter. Thank you.

_FireZombie _– Glad you thought so. Thank you.

_Kiss of Death _– Thank you.

_puplover77_ – I would love to answer each individual thing you said, but as I said above, I'm tired, so I'll just give you a BIG thank you, I'm glad you liked it, and we can all get onto the chapter. Hmmm… that came out a little wrong.

**Chapter 10**: Pain Shared is Pain Halved

"Meg?" Dean whispered, taking a step forward. A pained groan came from the young woman. Blood seeped from her nostrils and mouth; she was hunched over, and quite clearly in agony. Without hesitation, Dean rushed forward and began to untie the ropes binding her arms to the chair. He glanced momentarily up at Bobby as Haley took the other arm and began working at the knots. "Call an ambulance." He said. Meg gave a cough and some more blood come up, splattering on the floor. Dean cast a worried look on her, and then turned back to Bobby. "Tell them to hurry." He said. Bobby nodded and left the room.

"Done," Haley said, letting the ropes fall to the floor. Dean nodded as both Meg's arms were freed.

"I…" Dean's voice cracked. He took a deep breath and tried again. "I don't know what to do," he said, looking at Haley. "I mean… should we move her…? Get her lying down, or… just leave her there…? How do we know we won't hurt her more just by taking her out of the chair?" He scratched his head, a look halfway between concern and panic on his face. Haley frowned, looking hopelessly at the broken woman sitting in front of her.

"I… I don't think sitting up is doing her any good," she said after a minute. Dean hesitated for a second, before he reached down and, as gently as he could, lifted Meg out of the chair. She cried out in agony, and Dean almost dropped her. But he caught himself just in time, and slowly carried her toward the couch, lying her down on it. Silent tears of pain were sliding down her cheeks, and it looked to Dean like it was an effort for her not to be screaming her lungs dry every other second.

"It… it wasn't… lying…" She gasped out in a hoarse voice. Dean frowned, staring at her. "Your brother… she… needs to kill your… brother."

"She?" Haley asked. Dean glanced up and saw she had a blanket and a glass of water. He looked back at Meg for a second, and then his eyes widened.

"Laura." He stated. "She's possessed." Meg nodded weakly. Dean took the glass from Haley, and gently helped her take a sip. They discovered that was a bad idea when she started coughing again, which quickly turned into cries of pain as each cough shook her broken body.

"What about what it said about the cemetery, where he is?" Haley asked slowly. "Was it telling the truth?" Meg started to nod, but was overcome once more by a coughing fit. Only this time it didn't seem like she was going to stop until she'd coughed her own lungs up, and blood coming up only made that suspicion stronger.

The coughing subsided after a minute, and Meg slumped back against the cushion behind her head, taking in a small, shaky breath. Seconds passed and she didn't let it out again.

"Meg?" Dean gasped out. There was no response. She just laid there, eyes half-closed, not moving.

"Move over." Haley said, pushing him aside. Without hesitation, she laid one hand on Meg's forehead, and the other on her chest, and took a deep breath, reaching outwards with her mind, trying to latch on to the small flicker of life that was seeping out of Meg as each second passed. But it was like trying to catch something small in the water; somehow, it kept slipping from her grasp. She furrowed her brow in concentration. "Come on… come on, I know you're still there." Her breathing slowed, and she tried to relax, still reaching for Meg. "Come on, come on."

"Haley?" Dean asked. Her slow breathing continued, but she didn't say anything. He stared down at Meg's face. She was dead, that was obvious. So what was Haley doing?

A sharp intake of breath brought his attention back to Haley. Her eyes were wide open, and she was taking in deep breaths and barely taking the time to let them out before breathing in again, almost as if she was hyperventilating. Dean stared, unsure what to do. Something in the back of his mind told him to break the connection Haley had formed between herself and Meg's body, but… he didn't. If there was even the smallest chance Haley could save Meg… he just hoped it didn't end up costing both their lives.

Haley was gasping for air, eyes narrowed in focus as she tried to keep a hold of what little she could, continued to try and pull the other woman back from death. And then, with a sudden gasp for air, Meg's eyes were wide open.

Haley threw back her head and screamed in pain as a sickening crack sounded from her body. Her eyes were now wide open, filled with total agony. But she kept on, continued to pull at Meg's pain, the one thing above all else that Meg felt at that moment.

But there was a flip side to that coin: Meg was in agony; that much was certain. And it was that agony that, while giving Haley something to latch onto, was pushing Meg further and further away from life. She wanted it to end, wanted to be free of the pain, and Haley was fast becoming overwhelmed by that very same pain as it spread through her own body.

"No…" She gasped, her eyes narrowed as she tried to ignore the total agony her body was putting her through. Blood seeped from her nose, and she had the distinct impression it was dribbling from her mouth as well. But she didn't notice it; all she saw, all she felt, was Meg. Her hand clenched on Meg's chest, her nails digging into the other woman's chest. "You… can't… have her." She growled. Dean wondered who she was talking to.

Her head suddenly snapped up, and she was looking directly ahead, her eyes charcoal black. Her face was twisted into a snarl, no longer giving away any evidence that she was in pain. There was an old man, decrepit, and yet with an air of strength about him. He stood in wait behind the couch, hand outstretched towards… who, he wasn't quite certain of. There were two women, both on the brink of death; he had only come for one. One, quite obviously waiting for death to come, while the other seemed full of a strange, not-quite-life that defied all the reaper knew of life and death. But still; hiss job was to guide the dead, and until one of them died, he remained waiting.

Haley, however, was in no hurry to let him do his job. More spasms of pain shot through her body; bones felt broken, her lungs seemed unable to take in air, and she was beginning to feel cold inside, like the life was being drained from her.

Her black eyes focused on Meg; the injuries were still there, but… there was something different. They didn't seem quite as bad, or at least, they no longer appeared to be life threatening. In fact, they hadn't for some time. So what was Haley feeling?

And that's when she realized; the pain, the injuries, were no longer what she was channelling out of Meg, using up so that Meg would no longer have to feel it; it was the death. She wasn't breathing life back into the other woman, but pulling death out of her. The reaper slowly turned it gaze towards Haley, a terrifying smile twisting his lips as he reached forward.

Without thinking, Haley pulled back, instantly breaking the connection between herself and Meg and falling backwards onto the floor. Meg's head slumped to one side, but she continued breathing, though laboriously. She was alive, and would remain so for a little while, but she was still in desperate need of medical attention.

Haley rolled over, getting to her hands and knees, and then made a retching sound as blood rushed up her throat, coughing it up onto the floor.

"Haley…?" Dean began, but she looked up at him, blood still dribbling from her lips.

"Get a gun… and any bullets you have for it." She said. Dean hesitated, seeing the condition both Haley and Meg were in. Haley looked up at him, her eyes, which Dean was glad to see had returned to normal, narrowing dangerously. "Now!" She ordered. Dean's hesitation vanished, and he turned and left the room. Haley sighed, laying down, avoiding the small puddle of blood, and leaning her head against the hard wood floor, taking in deep breaths. She felt completely worn out. The injuries she'd channelled were slowly reversing, like any emotion she channelled empathically did, but the pain and weakness she was left with would take a lot longer to heal.

Dean returned, carrying the gun and the bullets. "Give." Haley said, holding out her hand. Dean made to hand over the gun, but she shook her head. "Bullets." She clarified. Frowning, Dean handed her the bullets. Without hesitation, Haley dropped them into the puddle of her blood near her head.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Dean asked as she pulled her hand back, leaving the bullets there. Dean began picking them up.

"Don't wipe them." Haley ordered. "If you see her… shoot her with those bullets… right in the heart." She said. Dean had a feeling he knew who the 'her' Haley referred to was. He stared down at her in shock when he realized what she was implying.

"I can't leave you and Meg-"

"Bobby called the ambulance, we'll be fine." Haley said. "You, however, won't be if I find out Sam died because you didn't go out to look for him." Dean bit his lip, but nodded.

"Since you put it that way." He said. He glanced down at the handful of bloodied bullets. "I'll bring him back." He promised. Getting to his feet, he looked over as Bobby came back into the room.

"Ambulance is coming. I recommend that you two…" He froze when noticed Haley lying on the floor, now more or less unconscious.

"Take care of them," Dean said. "I'll be back. With Sam." He turned and headed for the back door of the house as Bobby walked towards the front door to wait for the ambulance, which, as it turned out, was just pulling into the driveway.

-;-

When Haley opened her eyes again, she felt a desperate need for some aspirin to help with the headache that was beginning to build up. Great. Hospital.

She sat up, taking in a deep breath as she looked around the room. Bobby was asleep in a nearby chair, dreaming of something peaceful judging by the calmness emanating from him. Haley gave a faint smile, and laid back down against the pillows, using Bobby's calm as a shield against everything else in the hospital.

And sat bolt upright a second later as the feeling of evil filled her mind. She blinked, looking around the room. Nothing there, unless… she narrowed her eyes. No, it wasn't Bobby, so that meant…

"Meg." She whispered. She pulled the IV from her arm without hesitation (one of these days that was going to cause serious problems), threw back the blankets, and got to her feet. She didn't wait to wake Bobby, having learned that, when it came to demons, there was rarely time for reinforcements. Slipping out of the room, she began searching for the source of the presence. It wasn't hard; unlike most things she channelled, the evil actually got stronger the closer she got to it.

She stopped in front of a door; whatever was radiating the evil, it was on the other side. Glancing up and down the hall to make sure no one was watching, she turned the doorknob. And groaned when it refused to turn, indicating it was locked. With a sigh, she looked once more to make sure no one was there to see her, and then she reached out towards the evil in the room. It was a shot in the dark (no pun intended); the only time she'd been able to do what she intended was when she became unbelievably angry. She dipped into the demon's essence, bathing her mind in it like she would in water.

With a sharp intake of breath, her eyes flickered black, and the lock clicked, the door coming open on its own. Pleased with her accomplishment (so what if she was tapping into a demon? If it helped fight them, that was the main thing, right?), she stepped into the room.

There was a man standing over Meg, who was lying on her hospital bed, unconscious.

"No!" Haley cried without thinking, seeing a knife in the man's hand. He turned around, and she saw black eyes on the face of the same man she'd thrown out the window a couple days earlier.

"You." He snarled, and then nodded to his right. Haley had a split second to comprehend what he was doing before she was thrown off her feet and slammed into the wall. A cry of pain and shock escaped her lips, and then, like a candle flame in a breeze, she felt her baby's life snuffed out.

-;-

Dean glared up at the black clouds as he got out of the car. Rain was starting to fall, and he pulled his jacket tighter around him to try and keep out the chill as he began the trek through the cemetery. It wasn't hard to spot the crypt the demon possessing Meg had told him about; it kind of stood out, being made of black stone.

The gun containing the bullets coated in Haley's blood was tucked into the back of his belt, and he had a gun with ordinary bullets in his hand and ready to be used.

"You going anywhere in particular or are you just out for a walk in the rain?" Dean spun around. There was a young man, no older then Sam, if that, standing behind, a curious look on his face. Dean frowned, looking him up and down.

"Actually, I'm looking for my brother." He said. "He's about… this high…" he held his hand a little way about his own head, "… brown hair, probably unconscious when you and your friends brought him here." The young man grinned.

"Big brother, huh?" He asked, still grinning. "He was kind of hot, I wouldn't mind-" Before he could finish, Dean had lifted the gun and shot the guy right between the eyes. He fell backwards, a small hole where the bullet had penetrated his head. Dean stood on the spot, waiting. After a few seconds, the young man blinked, and sat up. No, it wasn't him, at all, anymore. The bullet had killed the young man whose body the demon inhabited, and now only the demon remained.

"Say something like that again and I'll make sure you never follow through on it." Dean said threateningly. The demon continued to blink, and after a minute, reached up to touch the hole in his head. Frowning, he lowered his hand and stared at the blood, which had already stopped seeping from the hole.

"I gotta say: I did not expect that." He said, nodding almost in admiration. He noticed the gun was now trained on his groin.

"Let me put this in a way you'll understand." He said. "You take me to my brother, or I make sure that, demon or not, that body won't be functioning by the time I'm done." The demon actually cringed at the coldness in Dean's voice. "Clear?" Dean asked.

"Crystal." The demon said, trying and failing to keep grinning. He was not the bravest supernatural being Dean had ever met, that was for sure.

The hunter nodded towards the crypt, his gun still aimed at the demon's crotch. Offering Dean a grin and a nod, the demon moved past Dean, eyeing the gun all the way up to the crypt door.

They entered the crypt in silence. The demon seemed to understand Dean was totally serious about making good on his threat if he was given a reason, so he walked to the casket placed furthest from the door, lifted off the lid, and then lifted out the floor.

"After you?" Dean glared at him. "I just thought I'd-"

"Go." Dean snapped. The demon quickly nodded and stepped into the casket, apparently going down some stairs. Dean moved around to the back of the casket, watching him, and going in after him when he was almost at the bottom. The demon turned around to look at him when they were all the way down. "Lead the way." Dean said. The demon nodded, looking more and more uncomfortable as the seconds passed.

-;-

Haley sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, crying out as she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She whimpered, feeling the contractions beginning. She was giving birth to a dead baby. It made her feel… dirty, to think about it.

There was blood seeping out of her, staining the front of her hospital gown. She let out a strangled sob, her hand on her stomach as she tried desperately to find some hint her baby was alive. But she kept coming back to the gaping emptiness that should have been her daughter.

Slowly, pain and stunned devastation mutated, and she turned to stare at the demon standing over Meg's body, something akin to hatred in her eyes.

Over at the bed, the demon-possessed man looked down at the woman that had hosted his 'sister'. He glared at her, as if she were to blame for the other demon's death. Snarling, he raised the knife above her chest.

"Goodbye, Meg." He muttered. A split second before he stabbed the weapon into her chest, it was wrenched from his grip, sailing across the room into Haley's waiting hand. Her eyes were blank, devoid of emotion, and she was staring right at him.

The demon smiled coldly. "You think you can scare with some party tricks, little girl?" He taunted. Haley frowned, like she didn't quite understand what he had said. She blinked, and when her eyes opened again, they were no longer blank. For that matter, they were no longer human, having turned a deep, empty black, rimmed with red. The demon had a split second to be shocked before he was thrown backwards into the wall, and held there by some unseen force.

Haley walked slowly and unsteadily towards him, and looked coldly up into his eyes. And when she spoke, her voice was as devoid of emotion as her eyes had been. "I… owe you… pain!" She said, and drove the knife straight into his stomach.

He cried out in shock and pain. Shock because he'd never felt pain like this; pain from the body he possessed was always, well, pleasant. This went beyond anything he'd ever felt, ripping through his body like the knife was ripping into his stomach.

A cold smile was on Haley's lips. "Now that's what I wanted to hear." She said. "You took my husband… you killed my daughter… now it's only fair I give you a little…" she twisted the knife, "… payback." Another cry of pain reached Haley's ears as she relayed the shockwaves of pain going through the man's body, empathically, into the demon's consciousness.

"What… are you?" The demon gasped out. This was no ordinary girl; no human, to the demon's knowledge, could inflict pain so… effortlessly, so calmly.

"Something beyond your comprehension." Was the reply. She stared down at the blood stain on her gown, and then back up at the demon. "You did that… did it feel good, hmm? To take that life? Was it easy?" She leaned in close. "Was it fun?" She twisted the knife again, and over the cries of pain she heard shouts, and loud banging. Turning around, it became obvious to Haley that the demon's cries had not gone unheard.

She turned back to the demon. "_Solvo quis est non vestri._" The words fell easily from her lips, and a sudden gasp escaped the demon, his face contorting and twisting. He started the shake, and twist, pulling violently against the invisible bonds holding him against the wall. And then, with a sharp intake of breath, he threw his head back, a thick black shroud rushing from his mouth as the demon was expelled from his body.

His head slumped forward for a second, and then snapped back up again as he recovered his senses and felt the sharp pain in his abdomen where he'd been stabbed.

Haley took a startled step back as the man fell forward to the floor, gasping in pain as he tried to move. Haley stared in shook, a pained expression on her face. The black of her eyes shrank back into normal pupils. Blankly, she looked down at the blood on her hands, the blood of the man she had just so calmly stabbed, most likely killed.

Slowly, she backed away, shaking her head. And then she lost her train of thought as she felt another contraction coming on. Unable to stay on her feet, she staggered backwards, hit the wall, and slid to the floor, her hands on her stomach.

Through the pain, he managed to look up. The sobs of pain from the woman were not unheard by him, but it wasn't her he was looking at. It was the door, locked by that… thing that had taken control of his body. He narrowed his eyes; it had been a long time, and he was nowhere near as skilled as it had been, but maybe…

With a satisfying click, the door swung open, and three doctors, five security guards and who-knew how many nurses poured into the room. He knew he was dying, knew he wouldn't make it to an operating table. And knew that he was dying free, because of the woman now suffering premature labour to give birth to a dead baby, because of him.

"The bitch ain't dead then…" He muttered in what he hoped was a disappointed voice, hopefully loud enough for someone to hear. He was falling into darkness, his life reaching its end; it was obvious that Haley had been the one to stab him. At least if someone had heard what he'd said, then maybe she wouldn't be accused of murder. And maybe that would atone for all the evil that had been committed using his body.

With that thought filling his mind, he finally let death take him, feeling, in a sense, relieved.

-;-

**A/N: Again, I'm a little worried about how this chapter is going to be received (as well as how it was written). Three things: exploring Dean's darker side, Haley's 'demonic transformations', for want of a better term (if anyone would like an explanation about these, I'd be happy to give it), and the last bit about the guy who was possessed by the demon. Mainly the second two, but all three of them turned out a little different to how I had originally intended, and I realized by the end of this I had had Haley change twice in the same chapter, which I was a bit concerned about, but it was just too good to cut off at any particular point to put it in the next chapter. But enough of my rambling. Review and let me know how I did.**


	12. Grave

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own. 'Nough said.

**Author's Note**: An attempt at angst is made in this chapter. I may have been angsting already, but in this chapter I was actually trying to do it, whereas, if it's happened previously, it was merely story material. Hope I did well.

**Review Answers**:

_FireZombie _– Thank you, thank you, thank you, here it is.

_Spuffyshipper_ – Yes, miscarriage has been planned since… well, actually, it's been planned since I knew I was going to put Haley and Sam together, which was, like, chapter something-teen of Heart of Gold. Yes, Meg survived, and in answer to the first time you said you wanted Meg to survive, there is going to be Dean/Meg romance. Don't know how deep it's gonna go, but it will be there.

_Ghostwriter_ - That's good. The answer's in this chapter.

_AnimeFan918_ – Yeah, it is. Here it is.

_Anonymous_ – Since your don't have a name, I'm just calling you Anonymous. Glad it was, yeah, it seemed like the kind of thing she'd be able to do.Thank you.

_Miss Meehan_ – Thanks you, glad you think so.

_EmSyd _– Thank you, nice of you to say so.

**Chapter 11**: Grave

The demon led Dean through the seemingly endless passageways beneath the graveyard, and possibly beneath the entire town. And Dean was careful to memorize each turn. He felt he might pass out from overuse of his brain later on, but he did it. He'd need to know later on should he need to make a quick escape.

Thankfully, they didn't take too many complicated turns. And it only took them about ten minutes to reach the place where Dean expected to find Sam. Except the only person in the overly large room was the last person Dean wanted to see right at that moment.

"Laura." He growled. Her hands had been around a large goblet, but as soon as she heard his voice, Laura turned to look at him, leaving the goblet on the table.

"Dean, how nice to see you again," she said. "Although, I have to tell you, I'm not particularly fond of your tour guide." The demon standing in front of Dean cringed as Laura turned a withering gaze on him. Withering being the ideal word, as his whole body began to twitched and shake, falling to his knees. For a split second, he looked up pleadingly at the woman standing in front of him. Then his head snapped clean off his body.

Dean took a startled step back as the decapitated body slumped to the stone floor, its head lying beside it. The smoky substance that he guessed was the demon evaporated as it was ejected from the body it had inhabited moments before.

"Now, onto more pressing matters." Laura said, and Dean turned his attention back to her. Without hesitating, he raised the gun, but was thrown clear across the room before he even had a chance to shoot it. He hit the floor hard, not to mention empty-handed.

The gun had landed some dozen or so meters away. Of course, even as he half ran half crawled towards it, it was lifted off the ground, levitating for a minute before gliding over into Laura's outstretched hand. Dean froze as she pointed it at him.

"A gun?" she asked incredulously. "That's what you expected to beat me with? Do you even know who I am?" Dean gave her a knowing smile.

"I have a fair idea." Without waiting for Laura to wonder what he meant by that, he pulled the second gun from his belt and fired once, twice, three times, each time hitting his mark dead-on.

A startled gasp came from Laura, and she staggered back a couple of steps as the three bullets penetrated her chest, the stolen gun clattering to the floor. She stared down at the bloody holes in the front of her dress for a few minutes, and then gave a deep, over-exaggerated sigh.

"I thought we just went over this," she stated, looking up at Dean and shaking her head in disappointment. "You can't kill me with ordinary bullets." Dean continued to smile in that mocking way he'd adopted of late.

"Who said they were ordinary?" He asked. Laura blinked, and then looked back down at the bullet holes. They were bleeding. She looked back up at Dean, clearly shocked.

"What-?"

"Haley's blood." Dean said. "Those bullets were covered in it. Sam's may restore you, but Haley's has something of the opposite effect, doesn't it?" The Demon growled at him, her eyes changing to a sickly yellow.

She turned from Dean, towards the altar where she had left the goblet. Dean put two and two together, and quickly ran forwards as she started towards her only chance of restoration.

His fist connected with the back of her head and she fell forward, while Dean rushed passed her, reaching the table and grabbing the goblet which, as he'd guessed, was filled almost to the rim with blood. And he had a sneaking suspicion he knew whose blood it was.

"No, wait!" The Demon shouted in a deep voice that didn't fit with the person whose lips it used. He hesitated for a second, turning back around as she got slowly to her feet. "I know where your brother is." That got Dean's attention. Laura's eyes narrowed, and Dean had a feeling he knew what the Demon was trying to do.

"It won't work." He said. "The blood neutralized your powers." The Demon snarled at him, clearly irritated by the side effects of the poison. But then the snarl twisted into a wicked smile.

"Maybe so… but I wasn't lying." She stated. "True, you could let this blood kill me…" There was an uncomfortable look on Laura's face; it was clear the blood was taking effect. "… but then, how would you ever find your brother?"

Dean's frowned, staring hard at the Demon. He'd wondered all his life what he'd do if it came to this; here was his chance, to kill the Demon he'd been raised to hunt. But at the risk of losing his brother forever? For years, he'd worried about it, wondered what he would do. Now, standing here, the choice was obvious.

"Tell me where he is… and I'll give it to you." He said. Laura's eyes narrowed, but it was obvious, even without supernatural senses, that Dean was telling the truth. She smiled.

"You humans are _so_ predictable." She said. "Take someone you love… and you'll dance to whatever tune we want."

"Where is he?" Dean all-but growled. "Tell me! If he's dead, I swear to  
god-"

"God?" Laura scoffed. "Tell me, Dean, what can you and god do against me? A god, as I recall, you don't even believe in." She scoffed again. "You can't expect help from something you don't believe in or don't want. Not without consequences anyway."

Dean sniffed, but didn't say anything. That smile returned to Laura's lips, and Dean almost dropped the goblet of blood purely out of spite. But he pushed that desire to the back of his mind. If he had to spare the Demon to save Sam, well, that was what he was going to do.

He once again almost rethought that choice when he heard what the Demon said:

"We buried him."

He stared, horrified, while the Demon continued to smile.

"You… what?" He choked out.

"He's in a steel coffin, buried somewhere in the cemetery." The Demon said. "That's all I can tell you; I wasn't present at the burial." Dean felt as though he'd been punched. "I'd hurry up if I were you; who knows how much air he has left." That got Dean's attention. Without stopping to think, he dropped the goblet. Whether the Demon got to it in time to drink from it, he didn't wait to find out. He fled the room, with just one thing on his mind: getting out to the cemetery and finding where Sam had been buried before he ran out of air. If he was even still alive.

Not five minutes later, Dean was at the top of the stairs leading up into the crypt. It wouldn't be too hard; get outside, and try to find where the earth had been disturbed. That was all there was to it. Or so Dean thought; he'd forgotten about the rain.

He was reminded as soon as he exited the crypt and discovered that the cemetery was a muddy wasteland, any chance of finding where Sam had been buried washed away by the suddenly torrential rain. Dean just stood, frozen, staring out at the downpour. This couldn't be happening. This could not be happening to him, not right at this minute. But no matter how much he tried to deny it, the rain continued to pour, continued to wash away the evidence that Sam had been buried alive somewhere in this cemetery.

"Sammy…" He muttered, looking out desperately. Then he thought of something. Sure, the rain had made it impossible to tell if the ground had been dug up recently, but a large portion of the cemetery was grass-covered. Maybe if he could find a patch that no longer had grass…

Fill with a new resolve, Dean didn't hesitate in leaving the shelter of the crypt, plunging out into the open, where the rain soaked him to the bone in about ten seconds. Ignoring the sudden chill biting at his skin, and squinting to try and see through the downpour, he began the task of searching for a bare patch of ground where someone might have recently buried something.

-;-

"_Sammy…_" Sam's eyes snapped open, at the voice.

"Dean!" He cried out, but momentary relief replaced by panic when he neither saw nor heard his brother nearby. For that matter, he didn't see anything, or hear anything besides his own quickening breath when he realized he was once again in some small, enclosed space barely large enough to house something (or someone) his size. Naturally, the first thing Sam did was start trying to kick and punch his way out of there.

That got him a couple of bruised fists and a near-panic attack when he realized whatever he was being held in was made of thick steel, and there was no way he was going to be breaking through that.

With a sigh of resignation that came out as more of a strangle sob, Sam let his hands fall to his sides. Maybe he should have been a little relieved by the fact that at least he was no longer tied up, but he thought that that fact said something about the expectancy of his chances of escaping, so it was little comfort.

He tried to recall what had happened before he'd passed out. He had a vague recollection of being angry. No, that was an understatement. Saying he'd been angry was like saying Dean saw the impala as just another car. But aside from that, not much made sense. That seemed to happen a lot when he used his gifts.

_Wait. What?_ Sam was confused for a minute. Then memory reach him through the fog. _Yeah, that's right. I used telekinesis on that altar to stop… _He froze mid-thought. Had he been soon enough? Were Haley and Dean alive? Yes, Dean was alive, of that Sam was almost positive. But what about Haley?

_And what happened after I used telekinesis? _he wondered. Closing his eyes, he tried to think. But his brain felt like a water-clogged sponge, and, try as he might, he couldn't bring himself to remember what exactly happened after the altar was dealt with.

He lay there in a pool of misery for a while, before he realized that something on the side of his neck was, and had been, itching like mad for quite a while. Without thinking (well, right now thinking was more of a chore then anything else), he reached up to scratch whatever was irritating him, and let out a pained yelp when his fingers scraped a not-quite-open wound. Of course, as soon as he'd started scratching, the wound had been opened again. He wasn't sure if the lack of extreme bleeding was a good thing or a bad thing.

But his mind wasn't exactly focused on that (if focused was the right word). The pain had brought back what he'd been trying to remember. And for a minute he wished desperately he'd left it where it clearly belonged; buried six-feet-under his subconscious.

Teeth. That was the first thing that came back to him. Not sharp vampires fangs that at least went in and out without too much trouble Blunt, human teeth biting into the side of his neck, the owner of said teeth taking their sweet time, like they were enjoying his suffering.

"_Another appetizer…_" The Demon's words echoed in his mind. Right after that, she'd put that cold goblet to the side of his neck and let the blood seep into it, and then…

Then, he wasn't sure. Maybe that was when he'd been knocked unconscious (again) and put in here. Another thing the demons and their allies seemed to be fond of doing to him.

He couldn't stop the hoarse, mirthless laugh that escaped him right at that moment. He wasn't even sure what had brought on the laugh, but something about his situation seemed to warrant it. Hey, it was better then another panic-attack, right?

The laughter died down after a little while, and then he felt like crying. Why did everyone constantly find it necessary to stick him in these small, dark spaces? With a final sigh of resignation, he let out a strangled sob and then lost all control of his body's water works (in more then one place; not a pleasant experience). He began crying, rather loudly (because, come one, who was going to hear him?), wishing Dean would just come and rip the lid of the box and tell him everything was going to be okay because he was there to save him and that he was going to be okay now.

More then a couple of things were wrong with that scenario, but in the state of mind Sam was currently in, it didn't really matter.

Sobs soon became coughs, and then a momentary struggle for air, before he finally managed to settled down into silently crying while he reached the conclusion that he was beginning to run out of air. Panic threatened to take over once more, but he managed to hold it at bay. Panic would only cause him to use up what little oxygen remained even faster.

_Hurry up and save me, Dean,_ he thought desperately.

Dean trudged around the cemetery for who knew how long. So far, all he'd managed to find was grass, grass, and a whole lot more grass. And all the while he knew Sam was slowly running out of air.

And that wasn't the only problem. He had no idea if there was more then one place where the grass had either simply worn thin, or for that matter been dug up to bury someone who was actually dead anytime recently. Plus, he had no idea how deep Sam was buried, so even should he find the right place, it could take him far too long just trying to dig him up.

This only strengthened Dean's resolve to find his brother, and fast. As if the fates were, for once, on his side, he was suddenly standing right in front of a patch of muddy ground, just long enough for someone about as tall as Sam to be buried beneath.

Without hesitation, he dropped to his knees and began digging. Sure, it was almost a useless gesture, trying to dig with his hands, but at this point he was quite beyond rational thought, focused only on getting Sam safely back up to ground level. Besides, he had nothing else to dig with.

He had been digging (if it could be called that; he wasn't have a whole lot of success) for only a few minutes when, without warning, someone came up out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground. He struggled, and managed to flip them over so that he was on top. His eyes widened when he saw who had attacked him.

"Elkins." He gasped. Then he saw his eyes. Deep, black, soulless eyes. "Not Elkins." The older man punched Dean in the jaw, to which he responded by landing a few of his own punches. "I really don't have time for this," he snarled at the demon-possessed hunter.

Elkins caught his fist as he was about to land yet another blow. Before Dean could so much as think about responding, his other hand came up and slammed right into Dean's arm.

He cried out in pain as he felt the bone of his arm snap. With Dean's focus diverted, Elkins managed to kick the younger hunter off of him, backwards into the mud, where he laid still, his only movement the fast rise and fall of his chest, and the painful attempt at cradling his broken arm.

He groaned inwardly when he heard the sound of a gun cocking. Looking up, he saw Elkins on his feet, with Dean's gun pointed right at him.

"Get to your feet." Elkin said. Dean didn't move. He laid there in the mud, thinking about Sam, how his brother was probably just a few feet below him. So much for the fates actually being on his side for once.

"On your feet, now." Elkin said, a bit more forcefully. To emphasized his point, he fired a warning shot that hit its mark mere centimetres from Dean's head.

Reluctantly, and with a look of resignation on his face, Dean climbed to his feet. He remembered Sam saying once that things could never be easy for them. He was beginning to think he'd been right.

"A little birdy told me I could get a hefty reward for putting an end to you." Elkins said. Dean swallowed, backing up slowly. He couldn't stop himself, and he kept backing up until he was flat against one of the crypts. The older man smile in a somewhat bizarre way, the stolen gun levelled at Dean's chest, as he stepped forward.

"If that birdy had yellow eyes, I wouldn't count on it." Dean said, remembering what had happened to the last demon that had come into contact with him. "It's not in the habit of paying up unless it's a life and death situation, usually its life and death." Elkins gave a rather unnerving laugh, looking away from Dean for a minute, and the young hunter suddenly had the suspicion that the demon possessing the older man wasn't entirely sane. Of course, of all the demons that could have possessed his father's mentor, it had to be one that was in the process of losing its mind.

He was brought abruptly from his thoughts when the Elkins pulled the trigger of the gun. Dean gave a startled jerk, and a sharp pain shot through his body as the bullet penetrated his chest. Another shot sounded, causing Dean to fall back against the crypt wall as the second bullet tore through his spine. The third bullet fired went right into his heart.

Sam gasped in shock as his eyes snapped wide open. In his mind's eye, he saw the bullets in slow motion as they crossed the distance between the shot gun and his brother, as they tore into his body. Again and again the images played behind his eyes. In the dark, they were all he could see.

He was striking out at the metal box before he'd made a conscious decision to even try and move. He'd almost-literally ripped through the foggy haze that had settled over his mind in the first second after he'd seen the vision. His mind felt sharper, clearer, then ever before; only one thing mattered, and that was stopping the vision from coming to pass.

He realized in his panicked frenzy that there were dents beginning to form in the steel lid of his prison, but they weren't from his fists. He stopped beating at it, feeling the power rushing into his like a violent river opening up into a lake. Raw, untamed power for him to bend to his will.

The groan of the steel metal stretching to its limit as he pushed outward against it was music to his ears. Slowly, ever so slowly, the lid was beginning to bend upwards, straining against the pressure being forced against it. Ignoring the fact that his head felt like it was about to explode, Sam continued to push, continued to draw in the power that, just hours earlier he'd been afraid to even consider using. He was _still _afraid. Terrified, in fact. But no one- _no one_- hurt his brother, in the present or the future, and got away with it.

-;-

"If that birdy had yellow eyes, I wouldn't count on it." Dean said, remembering what had happened to the last demon that had come into contact with him. "It's not in the habit of paying up unless it's a life and death situation, usually its life and death."

"Oh, you think you're funny, huh?" Elkins asked.

"No, I think you should put that gun down," Dean stated coldly. "If my brother dies, then I will kill you. I will tear you apart, even if I have to come back from the grave to do it, and don't think I won't do that." Elkins gave a rather unnerving laugh, looking away from Dean for a minute, and the young hunter suddenly had the suspicion that the demon possessing the older man wasn't entirely sane. Of course, of all the demons that could have possessed his father's mentor, it had to be one that was in the process of losing its mind.

He was brought abruptly from his thoughts when the Elkins pulled the trigger of the gun. Time seemed to slow down as the bullet erupted from the barrel of the gun. It came forward about an inch maybe, and then the ground seemed to explode from beneath the clerk.

Whatever had caused the sudden eruption of mud and, to Dean's surprised, steel, somehow caught the bullet before it could come any further, bouncing it backwards away from Dean and at Elkins, even as he was thrown backwards by the explosion which somehow had no effect on Dean, aside from showering him with yet more mud.

He stood there, in shock, for a few seconds, not quite sure what to make of what had just happened. And then he realized; Sam had done it. Sam…

Dean practically threw himself forwards, forgetting momentarily about his broken arm and landing painfully on it as he scrambled forward towards the hole in the ground the explosion had caused.

"Sam?" He called, looking down into the hole. "Sammy!"

His brother was lying in the steel coffin, his eyes open but blank, his face bruised and bloody, his clothes filthy and torn in several places, not the mention the fact he was now soaked through by the torrential rain.

And he wasn't moving, didn't give any hint of response to Dean's cry. So, without any hesitation at all, Dean dropped down into the coffin with his brother, feeling on the edge of panic.

Straddling Sam's waist, he reached down with his good arm and put two fingers to the side of Sam's neck that wasn't covered in blood, and, to his utter relief, felt a reasonably strong pulse beating beneath his fingers. So why wasn't his younger brother responding to him?

"Sammy?" He whispered softly, reaching down and brushing the side of his brother's face. "What's wrong? Where are you?" Still no response, just that blank stare. With a cry of anguish, Dean moved off of his brother, and then, using his good arm, he lifted Sam up into a sort of half embrace, cradling the younger man against his body, trying to get through to him. "Come on, I know you're in there," he whispered softly, thankful that the tears pouring from his eyes blended so well with the bucketing down around them. "Don't go yet, Haley needs you. And… I need you. I need you here with me, Sammy… please… please don't go. Don't leave me here alone." He was sobbing, burying his face in his brother's shoulder, Sam's head resting against his own.

"Dean…" There was a cough, and Dean pulled back a little ways, staring at his brother. The younger man blinked, trying to see the figure holding him through the hazy rain.

"Sammy?" Dean gasped.

"You… you're really here?" Sam asked in a quiet voice that could barely be heard over the rain.

"I'm here, Sammy," Dean whispered, holding Sam to him again. Sam's response was to wrap his arm around his brother as tightly as he could and begin sobbing into his jacket. "I'm here." Dean repeated, tightening his hold on his brother.

"Don't stop, Dean…" Sam sobbed. "Don't ever stop…" Dean had no idea what his brother meant by that, but he held onto him, trying to reassure him. In the back of his mind, he knew they should be trying to climb out of the make-shift grave, but between his broken arm and Sam holding onto him like he never intended to let go, Dean doubted they'd get very far. So he ignored that part of his mind, and focused all his attentions and making sure Sam was okay. Of course, right at that moment, all he needed to do to do that was make sure Sam knew he was there and wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. So he just knelt there, his arms wrapped protectively around Sam, nothing else in the world mattering.

-;-

**A/N: And that is another difficult chapter done, though I must admit I enjoyed writing this one a lot more then the previous one. I've had that brotherly love moment planned since chapter three I believe, and I've been fine tuning it ever since. Hope I did well, trying to make sure Sam and Dean and their brotherly relationship still get as much spotlight as Sam and Haley's relationship. How'd I do? Review and let me know. Also, I hope the vision wasn't too confusing. I didn't want anyone to know it was a vision until the the gun was shot (and even then, I'm hoping I managed to covince someone I'd actually let it happen), so that that way it'd be even a little bit of a surprise to suddenly find out it hadn't actually happened. Oh, and the reason there was extra dialogue, etc, between what Dean said and the trigger being pulled then there was in the vision is because the vision only actually started for Sam at the point where Elkins pulled the trigger. Hope that makes sense. Next chapter's the recovery from the last few chapters, with more then one surprise. Until then, Cyas.**


	13. Recovery

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own anything. Except Haley. Just don't tell her that, 'cause, y'know, demon parts and all, would probably kill me.

**Author's Note**: This chapter begins a storyline I've got planned that's going to span over the remainder of this fanfic and some of the next one. Well, actually, it's been going on for a while, but this is where it actually, unofficially begins. Anyone want to make guesses as to what that storyline involves?

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**Chapter 12**: Recovery

Dean and Sam had both fallen asleep in the coffin, both being utterly exhausted, not mention in pain. Whatever happened after that, neither one of them knew, but it was clear someone had found them, because Sam didn't wake up in the coffin.

And when Sam did wake up, in a strange room, and with Dean nowhere in sight, he was hit by a sudden urge to panic. He might have if his body hadn't felt like one big bruise. He settled for almost hyperventilating, because that didn't involve moving his body.

"Sam?" He looked over in the direction of the voice, and saw Missouri sitting in a chair by the wall.

"Where's Dean?" Sam all-but demanded, looking around the room for his brother. But there was no sign of Dean. Or anyone else for that matter, aside from Missouri. "Where is he?" He asked again, and this time his bed started to shake, and not because he was physically moving. A gasp of pain escaped him when he felt a headache coming on.

"Sam, calm down." Missouri said, suddenly by his side. The bed was still shaking, and he was looking up at the old psychic with pain-filled eyes. "Calm down now, Sam." She ordered. Sam closed his eyes. He wanted to, he really did. But he didn't know how. But between the splitting headache that was slowly taking over all of his senses, and the serious lack of Dean anywhere in sight, he just didn't remember how to calm down properly.

And then he felt a cool hand resting on his forehead, and a sense of relief washed over him. He felt another presence in his mind helping to contain the panic and the pain that was threatening to take him over.

The bed stopped shaking almost immediately after Missouri withdrew her hand, and Sam opened his eyes again. Feeling a lot calmer now, he decided to ask again.

"Where's Dean?"

Missouri took a moment before answering. "He's here, in the hospital." She said. "The doctors fixed up his arm as best they could. He's resting now, but…" She trailed off. Sam narrowed his eyes.

"But what?" He asked. Sighing, Missouri shook her head.

"I don't know." She admitted. "There's something different about your brother. He's barely touched the food the hospital's given him, he won't take visitors, and when your father or I do manage to visit him, he just lies on his bed, staring off into space like we aren't even there." She frowned, looking at Sam. "Did something happen out there before we picked you up?" She asked. Sam bit his lip, trying to remember. It was all a blur; he'd been in such a state when Dean had found him in the…

He swallowed, and felt tears come unbidden to his eyes. Missouri frowned, giving him a concerned look. Squeezing his eyes shut, Sam let out a small sob, memories of waking up in the coffin the first time… before he'd had the vision, he remembered waking up as it was being lowered into the hole. The sound of the dirt hitting the lid as he was buried.

"Sam." He opened his eyes again, looking up at Missouri through his tear-filled eyes. And then, without warning, he gave a small sob and then reached out and hugged the old woman, looking for reassurance. After a brief moment of shock, Missouri put her arms around Sam, rocking him back and forth, with some difficulty; even when he was sitting on the bed and she was standing up he was taller then her.

"They buried me…" He sobbed. "They… they stuck me in a box and…" His voice trailed off, but he continued to sob and cry against Missouri's shoulder. Not really knowing what to say to the distraught young man, Missouri continued patting him on the back, encouraging him to let all of it out. After what seemed like hours (though was probably only fifteen minutes at the most), Sam began to drift off, and fell asleep quite quickly, still rather exhausted by his ordeal.

Missouri gently laid him back down on the bed. Even without her psychic abilities, she could tell, even now, so soon after he'd fallen asleep, that it wasn't going to be a pleasant one. She could already sense the fear brought on by particularly horrible nightmares begin to consume the young man. With a sigh, she shook her head. Even Sam himself couldn't reach into someone else's dreams and change them. It was for the dreamer to protect himself against nightmares, not the person standing next to him wishing she could just make all his pain go away.

-;-

The door opened, but Dean didn't look over to see who it was. It was probably just his father or Missouri again. It seemed about the time they normally visited him, although time had kind of lost its importance to him as of the minute he woke up in this hospital bed.

"So, you're just going to lay there and mope while the world passes you by?" Asked a feminine voice that was definitely not Missouri's. Despite himself, Dean rolled over to see who had come in to disturb his misery, and saw an orderly leaving, closing the door behind him, and Meg sitting in a wheel chair right up next to his bed. The young woman was quite clearly still in a lot of pain, but her focus seemed to be on Dean.

"What do you want?" He asked, propping his head up on his good arm whilst his broken one sort of just lay limply in front of him. Meg frowned at him, leaning forward with some difficulty.

"I came to see if the rumours were true." She said. "Clearly they don't do you justice. You're not miserable, you're wading yourself in self-pity, and I think it's about time you came up for air."

"Why come up for air when it's so much easier to drown in it?" Dean asked, rolling over again so that his back was to Meg. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep." He closed his eyes, even though it was still sometime during the day. An exasperated sigh came from behind him, and he heard the sound of the wheelchair moving.

"Well, if that's really how you want it…" Meg trailed off. Dean swallowed, and then opened his eyes.

"Wait…" He said. The wheelchair stopped moving. Staring blankly at the wall in front of him, Dean took a deep breath, and then asked the question that had been haunting him ever since he'd woken up in the hospital a couple of days earlier, "What am I?"

Whatever Meg had been expecting him to say, it had definitely not been this. She sat in her wheelchair for a long minute before realizing he was probably expecting some kind of response.

"What… what do you mean?" She asked. Dean still refused to look at her, but he answered her question.

"The… the demon that was possessing you… she said things to me, before we…" He didn't really want to finished that sentence. But Meg seemed to get the gist of it.

"She was trying to break you, Dean, she-"

"But what if it's true?" Dean interrupted. He swallowed again. "I… I've killed… so much… and not just monsters… I've killed people." He rolled over, staring at Meg with a blank look in his eyes. "And I didn't care… not once, I never hesitated. I just… did it. I killed Laura and I didn't even flinch. She was in there somewhere, even in a coma she was still… alive. She was still a human being and pulled the trigger on her without a second thought. What does that make me, Meg?" She just stared at, not sure what to say. Unable to stop himself, Dean continued. "And… you… I was going to let you die. That demon… it was keeping you alive, and I… I hated it… it didn't matter that you were as good as dead, I wanted it dead."

"But you said-"

"What does it matter what I said?" Dean cut across her angrily. "It was everything I've fought to destroy my entire life. And I loved it…" There was a strange look in Dean's eyes, like he was confused by what he was saying. "… it hurt me, and I hated it, but I… I loved it." He blinked. "I killed it… I almost killed you… when does it stop? How much more death do I have to cause before I…?" And at that point he realized he couldn't go on. He didn't know how to. Not much of what he'd just said made sense to him; a lot of it had sickened him. And now he didn't know what to do.

He was surprised to feel a gentle touch on his shoulder, and absently reached up with his good arm, covering Meg's hand with his own.

"Why'd you do it?" Meg asked. This surprised Dean. He'd expected her to be disgusted with him, maybe even horrified. Maybe he even wanted her to be. He remained silent. He didn't want forgiveness; he didn't think he deserved it. Meg, however, believed otherwise. "You did it for Sam, to protect him, to protect all of your family." A pained expression crossed Meg's face; stretching forward to put her hand on his shoulder was obviously not easy for her. But she ignored it and continued on. "That's what separates from them, Dean; that's why you're not a monster. You don't fight for the sake of the fight. You fight to protect the ones you love. For Sam, for your father, for Haley…"

"For you." Dean said. Meg blinked, caught off-guard. Dean tightened his grip on her hand, but his eyes made it clear he was not convinced. "What if you're wrong? How do you know that I'm not going to wake up one morning and…" Again, he couldn't finish the sentence. And again, Meg understood. He felt her own grip tighten in his.

"I know, because when it came down to it, when you could choose between life, and death… you chose Sam's life over its death." Dean blinked. Was she talking about…? But how did she know? "You could've killed it, could've let it die right there. Hell, you could've heard what you wanted and then not given it the blood. But you didn't. You're a good, honourable man, Dean, because you kept your promise. You let your worst enemy live in exchange for your brother's life."

"How could I not?" Dean asked. Meg smiled.

"And that's the difference between a man and a monster." She said. "A monster would gladly sacrifice Sam for the chance to kill the demon. To someone who lived solely for killing, for fighting, Sam's life would be expendable, meaningless in the grand scheme of things. But to you, Sam is the one thing that isn't expendable."

Dean thought about this for a long time, just laying there, holding Meg's hand tightly in his own. She was very convincing. And it wasn't like he didn't want to believe her, it was just… he couldn't help the nagging doubts in his mind. Meg could see this on his face.

"And if you don't believe me that you're not a monster, ask Sam." She said. Dean just stared at her; Sam… Sam would tell him he wasn't a monster even if he grew fur, fangs and horns. Well, maybe he'd joke about it, but he would never, in all seriousness, say that Dean was a monster.

There were silent tears in Dean's eyes. Maybe that was all he needed. For Sam to believe in him. If Sam decided he wasn't a monster, then he wasn't. It was as simple as that.

Meg could see on his face that she'd finally convinced him. She closed her eyes and sighed with relief. Sagging in her wheelchair, she gave him a small smile, her hand still in his.

"Thank you." Dean said. All she did was nod, but she understood how thankful Dean was. Releasing her hand, Dean sat up, staring at her.

"You're welcome." She said, still smiling.

-;-

Haley looked up as the doctor walked into the room. Normally she'd have been too distracted by the many emotions that filled a hospital, but right now she found herself unable to reach past the gaping hole inside of her. Well, it wasn't really a hole; more like a vast emptiness she'd convinced herself was there, the lack of life where her baby had been just the day before. It acted as an effective shield against… anything really. If she opened herself up empathically (okay, she couldn't actually shut it down, but she could ignore it), all she'd feel was emptiness.

"Mrs. Winchester?" The doctor asked. Haley nodded in a non-committal way. He knew who she was. "I've just come to see how you're doing. I can't really begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now."

"No. You really can't." Haley said.

"Now, we've given you something for the pain," the doctor stated, "and something to stop the contractions until-"

"What?" Haley sat bolt-upright. "What do you mean, 'stop the contractions'?"

"Well, Mrs. Winchester, you're only, what? Six months pregnant." The doctor asked. Haley blinked. Why was he talking in the present tense? Had he forgotten she'd just had a miscarriage? She suddenly realized he'd been talking while she was thinking.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" She asked.

"You… you don't know, do you?" The doctor asked. She blinked again, fixing him with a confused look. "You were carrying twins." Her look of confusion turned to stunned disbelief. "From what we can guess… the baby you lost, it must-"

"She." Haley corrected. Even if her baby was dead, she would not have her referred to as 'it'.

"I'm sorry. She must have… cushioned the blow. The second baby…" He gave her what Haley thought might have been a comforting smile. "Your son survived the miscarriage. We gave you something to stop the contractions to keep from losing him as well."

Stunned silence followed this surprising revelation. All Haley could do was stare at the doctor. Was it possible? Had she been carrying two babies all this time without even realizing it? It was, she surmised, totally possible that the first had somehow been shielding the second from her empathy. And she knew that it was possible for ultrasounds to miss things.

Hesitantly, she looked down, raising her blanket to look at her stomach. Her eyes widened; sure enough, her stomach was still larger then normal, though somewhat smaller then it had been. She looked back up at the doctor, not quite sure what to say.

-;-

**A/N: I know, chapter's kind of short. I caught a muse (cause it's what all the cool kids are using for ideas these days), but it's lazy and won't get off the bed.**

**I don't know if there are drugs that can be given to stop contractions during premature labour, so bear with me on this (I didn't say this at the top cause I didn't want to give away the surprise). I've had most of the events of this pregnancy planned since the beginning of this series, including the miscarriage.**

**Also, I'm not sure if one twin can survive an unnatural miscarriage, but I know that sometimes one twin can die naturally before they're born, and the other can survive (I've done a lot of researched on pregnancy over the last few months).**

**I hope I portrayed Dean okay, and that Meg was up to expectations (since she was on the verge of death in the show when she was unpossessed, there wasn't a lot to go on personality-wise), as well as the way Sam's acting (no experience in being buried alive, thankfully) and Missouri's reaction to him. Well, I think that's all. Until next time, Cyas.**


	14. A Total Lack of Respite

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: I only own Haley and the itty-bitty baby growing inside of her. Everything else belongs to… someone else. The virgin comment comes from something along the same lines in an episode of MASH.

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**Chapter 13**: A Total Lack of Respite

The door swung open and, looking up, Haley saw Sam standing in the doorway, a mixture of distress and shock on his face.

"Haley, I just heard… I mean, Missouri just told me that…" At first, he just could finish the sentence. Then he finally actually saw Haley, and he trailed off. "You're still pregnant." The look on his face was now a mixture of relief, confusion and the beginnings of pure joy.

"Still pregnant…" She confirmed. "Sort of." Sam blinked.

"Haley, sort of still being pregnant is like sort of still being a virgin." He said. "You either are or you aren't." Haley gave him an affectionate smile, which seemed to confuse him even more.

"Yes, I'm still pregnant… but yes, I also did lose _a_ baby." She explained.

"_A_ baby? What like you were…?" He stopped, looking at her strangely. "You were…? Were you carrying twins?" He asked. Haley nodded.

"We lost the one we knew about, the girl." She said. She looked sad for a moment, but then she gave Sam another smile. "But we still have a little boy, which is just as wonderful." Sam looked like he didn't know what to say for a couple of minutes. But then he smiled, his mind apparently finally registering what Haley had said.

"I couldn't agree more." He said, moving forward and planting a kiss on Haley's forehead. Smiling lovingly up at him, she took his hand in hers, but his smile suddenly turned to a frown. "So why don't you seem as happy as you should be?" With a sigh, Haley let go of his hand, her own falling into her lap as looked down.

"I should be happy, shouldn't I?" She asked. "But I can I be happy when the baby I was carrying, the life my body has supported for six months, was snuffed out just like that." She clicked her fingers for emphasis. Still frowning, Sam dragged a chair over and sat down at the side of the bed.

"It's more then that," he said. It wasn't a question. Sighing, Haley nodded.

"I can't feel… anything." She said. "Empathically." A look of surprise was on Sam's face, as well as confusion.

"Can't feel anything as in… you're not empathic anymore?" His voice almost sounded hopeful, even though he knew that wasn't it at all. It was much worse, and Haley's brief shake of the head confirmed it.

"Can't feel anything as in… nothing… it's all gone, empty-feeling, like everything's been sucked into a black hole." She closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. "I thought not having to feel it all would be a relief, but compared that the silence is deafening. I feel like I'm being swallowed whole, and there's nothing I can do about it."

Sam sat in silence for a few minutes, and Haley waited for him to say something, anything, to make her feel better. Finally, he spoke up, "Maybe there's something I can do about it." He said. He took her hand in his. "Close your eyes." Haley obeyed, wondering just what Sam had planned. "Good, now, take a deep breath, and do what you normally do when you're intentionally trying to sense something." Again, Haley did as she was told, taking in a deep breath, reaching out for… anything really. However, as soon as she opened herself up, she felt as though she was suddenly standing on the edge of the deepest, darkest hole imaginable.

"I… I can't…" The words came out in panicked gasps, and she felt Sam's grip tighten on her own.

"Yes, you can." He said. "Do it… take the plunge. You told me once to fight, to stop… to stop sitting on the floor like a snivelling baby and get up and face my problems." Haley couldn't help but smile at the memory. It had been one of her first major experiences of being under the influence of her empathy; she'd been acting almost totally on Sam's own anger at himself.

The hole suddenly didn't seem quite as big. And it was now as if Sam was standing next to her, holding her hand. She could feel him, like he'd pierced the emptiness to be with her. She smiled, her eyes still closed.

"_Thank you._" She breathed, not really sure if she'd spoken it or thought it. And then she took the plunge. Physically, she was still sitting on her hospital bed, holding Sam's hand tightly. But she felt as though she was truly falling into the vast emptiness that had been trying to swallow her for the past few hours.

And then, as suddenly as she had felt it filled her, surround her, Haley felt the emptiness simply… dissipate. She was thrown back into everything, felt it rush into her mind like a tidal wave. She never thought she'd be so happy to feel so overwhelmed.

"Feel better?" Sam asked. Haley opened her eyes, looking over at him.

"Much…" She stopped on the first word, her eyes widening.

"Haley?" Sam's voice was suddenly filled with concern.

"S-Sam… I can't…" She didn't have to finish her sentence. It was clear that she was struggling for air. Without hesitation, Sam practically flew out of his chair to the door.

"Help! Somebody, I need help!" He shouted. Behind him, Haley's eyes rolled back in her head, her eyelids falling shut as she collapsed back against her pillow.

-;-

"Do they have any idea what's wrong with her?" Dean asked. He was sitting in a chair beside Meg's bed, his right arm in a cast and sling. Meg seemed to have improved dramatically from the damage done to her by her fall; though it was clear she wouldn't be walking on her own for quite some time. Missouri was sitting in a chair off to one side of the room, beside Sam, who was standing in front of his own chair, unable to sit down. John stood in the corner, one eye on Meg and the other on Sam.

"If they do, they're not sharing." The youngest Winchester said irritably. "All the doctor told me was that they'd stabilized her and that she couldn't have any visitors." He was fidgeting, apparently not enjoying standing there while Haley was possibly dying somewhere else in the hospital.

"If you start pacing again I'm gonna tie you to that chair." Dean warned, seeing his brother's restlessness on his face. Glaring at Dean, Sam nonetheless sat down.

"How can they not let me see her? She's my wife, dammit. And she's pregnant with my son!"

"And she also just came very close to dying, Sam." Missouri said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her for a minute, and then sighed, leaning his head back against the wall.

"I know. I… I know." He shook his head, his eyes closed. "I just… I don't understand it. She was perfectly okay one minute, and the next, she couldn't breathe. What could do that?"

"Any number of things," Meg said, sitting up with some effort. "And most of them are not even of the supernatural variety." Dean had stood up as soon as Meg had tried to move, and was now propping her pillows up for her, trying to get her more comfortable. At least something good had come out of the entire disaster the last couple of days had been.

"I need a good dose of caffeine." Sam announced, getting to his feet again.

"I'll second that." Missouri stated.

"Thirded." Dean said, holding his hand up as if he were voting for something.

"I'll go with you; you'll need an extra set of hands to bring that much coffee back here." John said, joining his son as Sam left the small room.

They'd taken maybe half a dozen steps when a voice sang out from behind them, "Mr. Winchester."

"Yes?" Sam and John said simultaneously, turning around. No one had bothered to give an alias; a lot of people in the hospital somehow remembered John despite the fact he hadn't been to the place in twenty-three years. The doctor blinked, surprised when they'd both answered, but quickly turned to Sam.

"I need to speak with you." He said. Sam's focus was instantly totally directed at the young doctor.

"Good, there's something I'd like to ask you: What the _hell _is wrong with my wife?" He demanded. The doctor, whose last name was Tyers, shifted nervously under Sam's gaze, a little unsettled by his outburst.

"Come with me, we need to talk in private." He said. Sam hesitated for an instant, but then nodded.

"Looks like you're getting the coffee on your own." He said to his father, before turning back to the doctor. "Lead the way."

John watched as his son walked away with the doctor, could practically see the anger and worry emanating from Sam like heat rising from the pavement. He didn't blame him; Sam had been through a lot the last couple of days. They all had, but Sam most of all. And now, to top it all off, Haley had come close to death for the umpteenth time in who-knew how long.

Shaking his head, John turned around, returning to his mission for coffee.

-;-

Sam just stared at the Dr. Tyers, a mixture of shock and disgust in his eyes. "You're telling me… that Haley almost died… because of the drugs _you_ gave her?" He asked in disbelief. Slowly, the doctor nodded.

"And I have already apologized profusely for my actions." Dr. Tyers said. "There was no time, it was either that or risk her losing the second baby. Which of those two scenarios would you have preferred?"

"The one where my wife wasn't given drugs that weakened her heart to the point where this baby could kill _her_." Sam snapped.

"Now, that's where you're wrong." Dr. Tyers stated. "Despite the fact that, yes, the drugs have had a rather unpleasant side-effect, her heart should still be strong enough to support both herself and the baby. What you saw, what happened to Haley was… quite unexpected. While it is true that the pressure on her heart from the baby could cause shortness of breath, and perhaps even stop the flow of oxygen altogether, what happened to Haley just now was… far too sudden."

"What do you mean 'sudden'?" Sam asked, his eyes narrowed.

"It was as if something had simply taken hold of her heart it stopped it from beating." Dr. Tyers explained. He gave Sam a thoughtful look. "Did you happen to tell her anything? Something that perhaps was particularly stressful?"

_I helped her emotionally open herself up to the entire hospital. _"No." Sam said, shaking his head. "Nothing. We just… sat." More or less the truth. They had been sitting. Tyers sighed, but could obviously think of nothing else that could have caused Haley's heart attack. "Can I go see her now?" Sam asked. The doctor frowned at him for a minute, before nodding.

"Just don't stay too long. She's not out of the woods just yet." He said. Sam nodded, getting to his feet and leaving the doctor's office.

If he'd stayed just a few seconds longer, he would've been there to witness the doctor's sharp intake of breath, and then the black haze that spread like oil across his eyes, rendering them a deep, soulless black. The doctor's mouth twisted into a smile, and the demon got to his feet, leaving the office as well as his eyes returned to normal.

-;-

Missouri had left a few minutes before to see what was taking John so long, leaving Dean and Meg on there own. With both of them fully conscious and more or less emotionally intact, neither one of them knew what to say, and an awkward silence descended upon them.

"So…" Was Dean's attempt at breaking the silence.

"Yeah…" Came Meg's amused response. Dean gave her a grin, and for a minute he reminded her of a teenager about to ask his crush out on a date. And she'd had many a boy ask her out on a date when she'd been in high school, so she had some experience in such matters.

"Do you think Haley's going to be okay?" Dean asked, not sure what else to ask. At least that was neutral territory, away from whatever was happening between he and Meg.

"Yeah, she'll be fine." Meg said, and she seemed perfectly sure of herself. "To someone who can stare death literally in the face, and send it packing empty-handed, a few drug-induced side-effects are nothing."

"You know that from experience?" Dean asked.

"Nah, just call it intuition." Was Meg's response as she smiled at him. He returned the smile, but once again they found themselves unsure of what to say to each other.

They were saved the trouble of trying to find something to talk about by the sudden arrival of Dr. Tyers.

"Meg Masters?" He asked, looking over at Meg. She nodded.

"Yeah, that's me." She said. The doctor looked over at Dean.

"And Dean Winchester?"

"Yeah," Dean said, now a little suspicious. "Is there something we can do for you?" He asked. The doctor smiled, and turned around, closing and locking the door.

"As a matter of fact, there is." He said, turning back to face Dean and Meg. "You can sit quietly while I kill you." He was holding a scalpel in his hand.

Far from being afraid, Dean looked somewhere between agitated and bored.

"Can we never get a minute's peace?" He asked, rolling his eyes. Dr. Tyers smiled at him, poised to stab Dean with the scalpel as soon as the opportunity present itself, but apparently not game enough to make a blind lunge at the hunter.

"I think that's a no." Meg said, trying to sit up. The doctor glance at her, but his main focus seemed to be on Dean.

"I owe you for that little explosion you threw at me back at the cemetery." He stated, which caught Dean's attention.

"You're the one who possessed Elkins."

"Oh, was that his name?" Tyers asked. He took a step forward, and Dean stiffened.

"No to redirect blame," Dean said. "But it was actually my brother who made the ground explode underneath you, not me." Without warning, Tyers rushed forward, having thought he'd found his opportunity. Dean threw up an arm to block the scalpel, which turned out to be his broken arm, and even with the demon's supernaturally enhanced strength, Tyers was unable to break through the cast with the scalpel. Without hesitation, Dean swung his arm at the possessed doctor, landing a direct hit across his face and sending him sprawling back.

"Okay, bad move, bad move." Dean gasped out, cradling his arm as pain shot through it. He looked up just in time to see Tyers come charging at him, and then he was knocked to the ground, having just enough time to catch hold of the doctor's wrist so as to avoid being stabbed in the chest.

"Dean!" Both demon and hunter looked over at the young woman, he was now sitting bolt upright in bed, her eyes filled with determination. She raised her hand, palm facing forward, fingers outstretched, and the demon was thrown backwards off of Dean into the wall.

Her eyes narrowed as she tried to keep him there, but it was obvious she had neither the energy nor the mental strength to keep up what she was doing. Luckily, those few seconds she kept him there were all Dean needed. He was on his feet in an instant, and by Meg's side the next.

"This won't work unless we both say it." He said. Releasing the demon, Meg nodded, holding out her hand, which Dean took.

"EGO expello vos hinc quod is populus, licentia iam." Dean said. Tyers had just gotten to his feet, but gave startled jerk, and look of discomfort on his face.

"_EGO expello vos hinc quod is populus, licentia iam._" Dean repeated, and this time Meg said it as well. Tyers' eyes had turned black; the demon knew what was happening and it was trying to fight it. "_EGO expello vos hinc quod is populus, licentia iam!_" Upon completion of the third recitation, Tyers' mouth opened wide and the thick, black, smoke-like substance poured out in a frenzied rush, dissipating as it spread through the room, seeking an escape but finding none, until finally, it was completely gone.

Meg slumped backwards, her energy spent, and Dean caught her as her head sagged back. He was just laying her gently back down against the bed when the door burst open and his father staggered into the room.

"Nice of you to join us." Dean said, a little irritably. His arm was aching, and he'd just had to perform an exorcism, which he couldn't accomplish on his own in the best of circumstances, with a woman who couldn't even stand up on her own. John took in the scene, and quickly noticed the source of the disturbance.

"You two okay?" He asked.

"I'll live." Dean said. He glanced at the unconscious woman in front of him. "Wish I was as certain of that conclusion for Meg." He gave a sigh and looked over as Missouri came in, and saw the doctor lying unconscious against the wall, a rather nasty bump on the back of his head. "Maybe we should… I don't know, move him," he suggested. "Make it looked like he was the one attacked, instead of the one doing the attacking." _Because that would not look good on his record,_ Dean thought humourlessly.

-;-

**A/N: I know it's an abrupt ending, but I couldn't think of anything else to write for this chapter. Now, a little explanation as to why my exorcisms (I really need to lay off those for a while) are all crazy different. The first exorcism, the one used to free Meg, is a proper exorcism, and can be performed by just about anyone because it channels power from some other source. The exorcism Haley used against the demon who caused her miscarriage was short and easy to use, but takes a lot of energy, physically and mentally, from whoever is using it. Because she was tapping into her demonic essence, which is practically a limitless source of energy, it was easy for her to do it. The one in this chapter is essentially the same, except because Dean didn't have the supernatural nor the mental energies (being completely human with no supernatural gifts) to perform the exorcism, both he and Meg (who, at this point in time, also lacks the strength to do it on her own) had to do it together for it to work. Does all that make sense? Hope so, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next one will hopefully ease up a little, but I'm not promising anything. Until next time, Cyas. **


	15. Surprise

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: I only own Haley and the unborn baby. And any random add-in characters you don't recognize.

**Review Answers**:

_EmSyd_ – Thanks, good to know.

_The Kiss of Death_ – Thanks.

_Daughter of Ipswich_ – Yay, new reviewer. Normally I'd say something really dorky right about now, but I'm trying to avoid dorkiness, so we'll settle for a "Welcome to the Heart of Gold reviewing… place' okay, no imagination there. Anyway, glad you've enjoyed the stories so far. Yes, I've considered it a lot.

Ghostwriter – That's a relief. I have this tendency to ramble and I'm never sure if anyone ever understands it. Thanks, same here, I was so upset when they killed her (next to Dean, she's my second favourite character on the show). Will do, thanks.

**Chapter 14**: Surprise

_A Month and a Half Later_

Haley recovered from the heart attack after a couple of days, and after that, there were little-to-no signs of any side-effects from the drugs she'd been given. Everyone was released from the hospital at various points over the next few weeks, the last of which being Meg.

And now, a month and a half later, things are just starting to return to abnormal. And you know what that means: any minute now, something is going to go wrong.

"Whoever forgot to flush the toilet gets to clean up the vomit." Haley said as she half-walked, half-staggered out of the bathroom, looking a little pale and rather worn out. "I thought morning sickness was supposed to stop… before now. I'm seven and a half months pregnant; anything I could possibly have lost is up and flushed by now."

"Can you not say things like that when I'm eating breakfast?" Dean asked.

"Can you try and flush the toilet next time?" Haley shot back as she collapsed into a chair in the kitchen of the house she, Sam, Dean and Meg were currently renting. Well, she, Sam and Meg rented it and Dean just inhabited a room when he wasn't out hunting with John, Bobby and Caleb (with so few hunters left, someone had made the decision that splitting up would be a bad idea right now); though he contributed to the rent whenever he could (hustling pool was an unpredictable career at best). Sam outright-refused to even leave the house without Haley, and Meg, despite being out of hospital, was still recovering from her injuries, especially her legs, which were still incredibly weak. She could walk, but not for long or very far, so she enjoyed being pushed around in her wheelchair by Dean whenever he was around.

It was a reasonably nice house, not far from Missouri's, with a pool in the backyard, a pool _table _in the basement (which had been converted into something of a games room), two bedrooms on the first floor, one bedroom on the ground floor, a reasonably large living room, a decent-sized kitchen, two bathrooms, one on the ground floor and the other on the first floor, and a shed out the back where the hunters often met to make plans.

Right now, Sam was in the shower on the second floor, Meg was making pancakes, Dean was eating the pancakes, and Haley was fuming about the fact that her baby continued to wreak havoc with her bodily functions.

"You sure you don't want help?" Dean asked between mouthfuls of pancake, looking over at Meg. She was leaning back against the kitchen counter while she waited for the newest batch to finish cooking.

"We both know you don't really mean that, you're just saying it because you care," Meg said. "And because you know I'll refuse. You go ahead and enjoy my pancakes while you can."

"Damn," Dean said. "I gotta get a girlfriend who doesn't know me so well."

"So it's official then?" Haley asked, taking a bite out of her pancakes. Sugar soaked in lemon juice covered the both of the pancakes on her plate, and she tried (and failed) to savour the taste in her mouth as she waited for Dean to answer.

"What do you mean?" He asked. "It's been official for weeks."

"No, you've been having sex with her for weeks." Haley said. "There's a difference."

"In that case, yes, it is official." Dean said, looking up as Sam walked into the room, wearing a plain red t-shirt and a pair of jeans, his hair still damp from the shower. "You hear that, Sammy? Your big brother's finally found someone who's more then a one night stand."

"I heard." Sam said. He gave Haley a quick kiss, and then took a seat beside her. A moment later, a pancake dropped onto his plate, having just finished cooking in the frying pan.

"Enjoy, this is the last time I cook for you guys for at least a month. See if you can fend for yourselves in that time." Meg said, moving back over to the stove and frying pan.

"Enough with the cooking, woman; come and enjoy your handiwork." Dean said, moving into a more comfortable position in his chair. "Or at least come over and let me enjoy you."

"Can you not say things like that when I'm eating breakfast?" Haley asked mockingly, a smile on her face as she used the exact same words Dean had just a few minutes earlier. With a smile of her own, Meg turned off the frying pan, dropped the final pancake onto the pile that had been accumulating on a plate in the centre of the table, and then went and sat down beside Dean, taking a pancake for herself.

"You know, if I could actually taste this, I'm sure I'd be congratulating you on a job well done." Haley said to Meg, taking another piece out of her pancake. She glanced over at Sam. "Don't go into the downstairs bathroom; Dean's got a mess he needs to clean up." Sam grinned.

"Well, don't worry Dean. You keep trying, and one day you'll be able to make it all the way without having any accidents." He said, pointedly looking at his pancakes so that he couldn't see his brother's face. Haley and Meg both did their best not to laugh, while Dean made a somewhat immature face at Dean. This was how it had been just about every morning for the last couple of weeks. Supernatural activity had died down to almost nothing, and what little there was could be handled by the three older hunters, which left dean more time to spend with Meg. So they had enjoyed mornings like this one quite often lately, and it felt good for all of them, to be part of a family again. Especially Meg, who had lost her family in a fire not long after she'd been possessed. Her father had died when she was a baby, burned up on the ceiling like Sam and Dean's mother and Haley's sister, and then her family had been killed only a little over a year ago. Suffice it to say, she'd probably doubted she'd ever have a family breakfast again.

Sam glanced over at Haley and noticed a look of discomfort on her face. And colour of her skin and the way she was sitting told him it was time for her to move.

"I think you've eaten enough for this morning." He said.

"I… agree." Haley said. She pushed her chair back, and sat there for a minute. Of course, what she was really doing was trying to stand up, but to everyone else it looked like she was just sitting there. "Sam, hand please." She said, looking over at Sam. He smiled, taking another bite from his pancake. "Now, husband! I feel like a beached whale."

"Right away, Mrs. Whale." Sam said with a grin, getting to his feet to help her to hers. "Would you like me to push you back into the ocean while I'm at it?" He asked. Giving him a sarcastic laugh, Haley pulled herself to her feet with Sam's help.

"Thanks, but I'll settle for our bed." She said, leaning against Sam.

"Your command is my wish, my queen." Sam said. Behind him, Dean rolled his eyes, earning him a smile from Meg, which she tried to hide, and a glare from Haley, which she directed around Sam. Then Sam turned her around and began guiding her out of the kitchen.

They reached their first obstacle at the foot of the stairs. Actually, the stairs were the obstacle. Haley's eyes were wide as she stared at them, and she appeared to be counting just how many there were. After a minute, she leaned her head against Sam.

"I'm tired just thinking about trying to climb them," she complained. "With or without your help."

"Okay, next choice," Sam said, changing the direction they were facing, now leading her towards the bedroom that was on the ground floor; it didn't have an actual owner, though it was where Missouri slept on the occasions she spent the night. Sam figured she wouldn't mind if Haley rested in there while she regained her strength.

He practically had to lift her up off the ground to get her off the bed, and he hadn't realized just how heavy she was until the relief filled him as soon as she was no longer in his arms.

"Hey, I felt that," Haley said, sounding somewhere between accusatory and childish. "I am very self-conscious right now. I don't need comments about my weight."  
"I didn't say anything." Sam complained.

"You were thinking it." Haley said, her eyes narrowed. Sam gave her a loving smile and kissed her. Any possible anger she might have felt instantly melted away. Of course, so did what little energy she had left, and she leaned her head against his shoulder, almost asleep already. She felt Sam lay her down, and gratefully rested her head on the pillow. While she enjoyed the many thrills of being pregnant, one thing she would not miss was the constant need for sleep.

-;-

Her dreams as of late had been getting more and more… well, the word insane leapt to mind quite easily. Insane as in, it could never really happen but somewhere in her gut she knew it really could.

She was standing on a hill, staring out across the landscape. In one arm she held a child, perhaps three or four years old. On the ground, a boy of seven or eight held her hand. All any of them could see for miles around was a burned out wasteland. Men, women, children, were all slaves, working tirelessly for no real reason except to be kept in line by their masters. Demons. The Demon Haley had fought so hard to destroy alongside her new family.

They'd been wondering for weeks where the Demon could possibly have gone. It had gotten Sam's blood; it should be restored. So why wasn't it attacking them? Why wasn't it bringing Haley's nightmares to life? Had her own blood been enough to kill it after all?

John and Caleb had returned to the cemetery, but all evidence of the ritual had vanished. That didn't specifically say the Demon had survived and drank from the goblet, but it also didn't confirm that it was dead.

Where was Sam in all of this? And Dean and Meg and John, and all the others? What had happened to them? Why was Haley alone with her sons?

Turning suddenly, Haley had just enough time to see a tall figure with dark hair before the figure slashed her across her chest and abdomen with a large sword…

… And then, with a sharp intake of breath, she sat bolt-upright, awakening from the dream. She quickly felt along her chest and stomach where the sword had cut into her, and as she'd expected, she was completely fine. No harm in making sure though; she never knew what was real and what wasn't when she was dreaming these days.

Swinging her legs around and off the bed, Haley tried to pull herself to her feet. Somehow, she managed it, if a little unsteadily, and walked slowly out of the room. Three things had become important to her during her pregnancy: sleeping, eating, and relieving herself. Right now, she was hungry. Actually, she was starving; it seemed like hours since breakfast. For all she knew, it had been; she didn't know how long she'd been sleeping.

"An hour and a half." She looked up as she entered the kitchen and saw Dean and Meg sitting on opposite sides of the table, a chessboard placed between them, dominated mostly by white pieces.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I timed how long you were in bed." Dean answered without taking his eyes off the board. After a minute, he picked up a knight (a black one) and moved it in forward in an L shape.

"I didn't know you played chess." Haley said.

"He doesn't." Meg said simply, picking up her bishop and moving it onto the same square as Dean's knight, taking the knight from the board, and also leaving her bishop diagonally facing Dean's king. "Checkmate." She said cheerfully.

"Dammit." Dean said irritably. He pulled out his wallet and took out a twenty, handing it to Meg. Haley looked between the two of them.

"You were playing for money?" She asked.

"Yup," Meg said. "One dollar for every piece lost, and twenty dollars to the winner." Haley counted up all the pieces Dean had lost. Six pawns, both bishops, one castle, his queen, and one knight.

"How'd you convince him to play?" She asked.

"I told him if he won I'd-"

"Please don't tell her." Dean said quickly. Haley raised an eyebrow; was Dean blushing? A small grin spread on her lips.

"Where's Sam?" She asked, deciding to make Dean more comfortable by changing the subject.

"Upstairs in the nursery." Dean said. "Adding some 'finishing touches' as he put it." Haley groaned. That left chatting with Sam out of her plans then; the 'nursery' as Dean had called it, used to be Sam and Haley's walk-in closet, meaning in the bedroom upstairs.

"Please tell me the bathroom's been cleaned, at least." She said.

"The bathroom is sparkling clean." Dean said. He turned his attention to Meg. "I want to go again. I think I've got the hang of it now and I need that twenty back."

"Whatever you say." Meg said, already setting up the board again. Sighing, Haley got to her feet. First she'd use the toilet, then she'd eat. Then she'd probably need the toilet again. Oh well, too late now.

She did her business, and then walked over to the sink, washed her hands and then splashed her face with water, looking in the mirror. She still looked worn out, but at least now she felt a bit refreshed. Maybe she'd have a nice, relaxing bath later on. Maybe she could talk Sam into joining her.

With that thought on her mind, she left the bathroom and returned to the kitchen. She'd been gone maybe five minutes, and already Dean was losing at the second game of chess. Despite his skill on the battlefield, he just couldn't seem to get the hang of a simple chess game. Shaking her head, she walked passed the table to the fridge, grabbed a block of cheese and the butter, closed the fridge, and then searched the cupboards until she had a can of pineapples. With those two ingredients in hand, she set about making a couple of cheese and pineapple sandwiches.

With her sandwiches on a plate, she turned to join Meg and Dean at the table. She'd taken three, maybe four steps when she froze, her eyes widening, breath quickening.

The plate fell from her hands, hitting the floor and breaking into a dozen pieces, but she barely noticed it. Dean and Meg, however, did, and they both looked over. Haley just stared straight ahead, a familiar feeling rushing over her. The feeling of being trapped, but it wasn't her. But it also wasn't the same kind of trapped feeling. It wasn't suffocating, just…

"Haley." Her eyes opened, and she blinked, seeing Dean standing in front of her. "You okay." A look of discomfort crossed her face. Something was… different. Her eyes widened.

"No… I…"

"What? What is it?" Dean asked. "Is it the Demon?" He knew that she sometimes looked like she had a second ago when she was feeling something particularly strong. That brief experience, however, was the farthest thing from Haley's mind right at that moment.

"No." She said, shaking her head. "Dean, my water just broke."

-;-

**A/N: Now the fun begins. Okay, not so much fun, but we are no in the second (and last) part of Eye of the Storm. I had it planned out; the first half involved the Demon taking Sam, the second part involves Haley being in labour.  
I hope it wasn't too weird having them all living in a house together, I just figured Sam and Haley would get a house, plus Meg can't exactly live on her own until she's fully recovered, and, well, Dean and Meg are together, so he'd live where she lived (plus his brother and sister-in-law live there).  
****Oh, and I'm not really sure what the point of Haley's dream was, whether it's past or future, I just had to put something in while she was sleeping, and I couldn't think of anything to do with Dean and Meg or Sam, so I just gave Haley a dream.  
I keep thinking I've made a mistake somewhere, but I can't find it. If anyone sees anythign wrong with this chapter, can you let me know? Anyway, let me know what you think. Until next time, Cyas.**


	16. Quickening

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: Haley and baby mine. Everyone else, nigh. Angel fans my recognize the chapter title.

**Author's Note**: I'm not sure if I type of car I gave Sam and Haley is believable. I was looking through the IMCDB (Internet Movie Car Database), and came across this particular car model that, according to the database was used in the fifth season of Angel. Hope it's believable; the roof was down (or not there at all, not sure) in the picture I saw, and I'm hoping that since it was used in Angel the model's still available (or at least usable). If not, can someone tell me and I'll correct it.

Also, if anyone's interested, I thought I'd mention now that I based Haley on Darla (minus vampirism) from Angel (yes, I like Angel). Lol, actually, first she was based on Billie Jenkins on Charmed (played by Kaley Cuoco, hence the name Haley), then I got obsessed with Buffy, and for a brief time Haley was based on Buffy, and then finally I settled on my #1 favourite actress, Julie Benz (Well, Darla, since I based Haley on Darla, when Julie Benz was younger). It is actually an interesting coincidence, because Darla was played by Julie Benz, who I learned a little while after creating Haley, had played Layla in the Supernatural Episode 'Faith'.

Oh, and one final note. I don't think any amount of research is ever going to give me the knowledge to properly write from the point of view of a woman who is in labour, so I apologize if any of the symptoms or descriptions are inaccurate. Of course, some of the symptoms are just Haley, nothing to do with the pregnancy, but the rest, I hope is okay.

**Review Answers**:

_Miss Meehan _– Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. Yes, that's exactly the feel I was hoping it would have.

_FireZombie_ – Yeah, I know it's a little early. I based it on the only pregnancy I've seen properly (on Charmed, when Piper was pregnant with Wyatt), and the baby was born about six weeks early in that, so I figured I'd just have it that way, make the pregnancy even more stressful for Haley, lol. Here's the update, enjoy.

_EmSyd_ – Thanks, glad you liked it.

_Daughter of Ipswich_ – Unfortunately, not much getting ready, lol. You'll see what I mean as you read on. Here's another fast update, possibly the last until next weekend (weeks aren't a good time for updates).

_The Kiss of Death_ – Lol, yeah, I suppose it does. Thanks, here's more.

_Spuffyshipper_ – Thanks, have done. Yeah, things just aren't going right for her. That's no problem, contrary to what I sometimes think, there is a life outside of the computer (one I am trying very hard to avoid, but know other people don't).

**Chapter 15**: Quickening

"Sam, get your ass down here!" Dean shouted from the bottom of the stairs. Turning around, he stalked back into the kitchen where Haley was sitting on the chair, on the verge of a panic attack, with Meg trying (and failing) to keep her calm.

"Why is this happening? Now, of all times?" Haley gasped out between her panicked hyperventilation. "This baby isn't due for another six weeks. I am not ready to have this baby yet."

"Yeah, well that doesn't seem to matter to 'this baby'," Dean said. He turned around and was about to call Sam's name for the fourth time since Haley had announced her water had broken, when Sam came into the kitchen.

"What is-" He saw Haley. "What's wrong? Is it the baby? Do we need to get to the hospital?" He asked very quickly, barely taking a breath between each question.

"Hospital, yes. Baby, yes, wrong… maybe." Haley said, taking many breaths between each _word_.

"Okay, calm down." Sam said. "The first stage of labour isn't supposed to be as painful as you're making it look; your panicking probably isn't making it any easier." Haley shot him a withering glare.

"What are you, a woman?" She asked. "Baby, early, not fun." She said. "Now you either call the hospital and find out why the hell my baby is coming six weeks early or you can get a free ride in the ambulance as a patient." While they all knew that she wasn't serious (well, they hoped she wasn't serious), Sam decided it would probably be a good idea to do what she wanted.

"I'll call the hospital if you promise to calm down." He said. "Just… you know, breathe, calm your mind, and…" He fumbled for the words. "… and all that other touchy-feely-self-help-yoga-crap Dean doesn't like." With a shrug, he turned and walked out of the kitchen (no phone there), to the phone in the hall. He picked it up and had dialled in four of the eight numbers in the hospital phone number before he realized something.

"The phone's dead." He said, sticking his head into the kitchen. Dean raised an eyebrow, while Haley stared straight ahead, trying very hard to calm her breathing and forget what she'd just heard.

"Okay, well… try your cell phone, maybe we can- Meg, what're you." Meg had walked over to one of the walls, and flicked on one of the light (despite the fact it was broad daylight). For a minute, everyone just thought she'd lost her mind. Then they noticed something; the light, even barely visible in the daylight, had begun to flicker.

"Oh, that's not good." Haley groaned, not willing to say, but truly believing, that things couldn't get any worse. On top of the premature labour she was about to experience, now there were demons somewhere in the neighbourhood. Possibly _the_ Demon, considering their luck. A look of mild discomfort crossed her face as she felt a contraction coming on.

At that moment, John, Caleb and Bobby burst into the kitchen.

"The Demon is-"

"Here." Haley interrupted John. She nodded toward the light.

"You don't sound anywhere near as worried as you should." Caleb stated.

"Neither would you if you had something the size of a Chihuahua trying to squeeze out of your lower half." Haley shot back, looking a little… delirious actually. She closed her eyes, letting out a strangled sob. "It's smothering me… it's all I can feel… all around me… no control… Just keep pushing… never winning…" Sam's eyes widened.

"What?" Dean asked, noticing his brother's look. "What is it? Is she actually making sense to you?" A brief look of panic crossed Sam's face but quickly vanished.

"I… I think she might be… uh… sensing the baby." He said. "Not just sensing it. I think she's… uh… experiencing it. Like when I was…" He trailed off. But Dean got the idea.

"You mean to tell me that what Haley's feeling now… that she's… she's feeling the labour… from the baby's point of view?" He asked. Sam gave a quick nod. Dean looked around the room, not really looking at anyone. "Wow, count the ways that that could go wrong."

"Hello, did everybody forget about the Demon?" Bobby asked. Haley suddenly turned to panicked look on the hunter.

"He's here… he's coming for me, I can feel it… no… that's not right… he's hiding in plain sight, _out _of sight, out of mind…" She actually gave something that resembled a giggle. Then she put her head in her hands, and began crying. "Get me out of here." She sobbed. "God, get me out of here now." Things began to shake, move on there own. Sam turned a startled look on Haley; there was no doubt she was doing this, even though she didn't seem to realize it. But that didn't make sense. Haley was an empath; the only time she could use telekinesis was when the psi-vamp's essence took over.

"Okay, we're going." He said, reaching over and putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked up from her hands, and the shaking stopped. "Come on." He said, helping her to her feet.

"Okay, Caleb, Bobby, you two go with them." John said. Sam shot a surprised look over at his father.

"What?"

"I'm staying," John said. "See if I can't hold it off while the rest of you get gone."

"Well, then I'm staying." Dean said. Sam's look moved to his brother. "You can take care of Haley… I'm not leaving Dad to fight this alone…"

"Dean…" Sam began.

"No…" His brother cut across him. "Anything you say… is gonna sound too much like a chick-flick-picture-perfect goodbye. None of which I approve. I'll be seeing you again. At the hospital, later."

"Well…" Bobby began. "If you two idiots are staying… you're gonna need a level head around to keep you both from getting yourself killed-"

"Woman in labour over here," Haley interrupted irritably. "Can we just decide who's coming and who's staying and go already."

"Caleb, get her out to the car." Sam said. She suddenly shot him a panicked look. "Don't worry, I'm coming… I'm not leaving you. But I need to talk to my brother and father for a minute." He glanced up at the light. The flickering was getting more and more insistent, like it was an actual warning. "Hurry up, we don't have long!" Without another word, Caleb walked over and helped Haley out of the room. Sam turned on his brother.

"Yes." Dean said before he could even open his mouth. "I'm sure. I'm staying here to make sure you can get Haley to the hospital before she gives birth to my nephew." Sam bit his lip, but nodded, turning to Meg.

"You already know I'm staying," She said. She put her arm around Dean's shoulder. "And you know nothing you say, or he says for that matter, is going to change my mind." Sam frowned at that, but nodded.

"Okay." He said. Giving them something between a nervous and encouraging smile, he added, "Good luck, make sure you arrive in time for the birth." And then he was gone, leaving Dean alone with Bobby, Meg and John. Dean walked around the kitchen counter to the four drawers containing various kitchen utensils, and pulled the bottom drawer all the way out. Beneath it, there was a compartment where Haley had stashed some of her weapons on the off chance she'd need them (she'd had to hide them because Sam didn't seem to trust her with weapons while she was pregnant; probably with good reason).

"Okay, ready guys?" He asked over his shoulder, seeing his father and Meg standing there. He took out some of the weapons and dropped them on the counter-top.

-;-

Haley was sitting in the back seat of 1959 Cadillac Deville she and Sam had gotten as a late wedding gift; from Dean. Apparently, he'd spent the three months up until the wedding, and the next two months after that, trying to put it back together. The roof was down, the wind was in Haley's hair, and she could feel the contraction begin to die down again, for the next fifteen-to-twenty minutes at least.

"'You doing okay back there?" Sam asked from the driver's seat. Caleb sat in the front passenger's seat.

"Do I look okay?" Haley asked, leaning her head against the top of the door.

"Do you want an honest answer?"

"Are you going to tell me I'm gorgeous?"

"You are, but no."

"Lie to me."

"You look relaxed and beautiful." Sam said with a smile on his face, though the smile never reached his eyes. Haley could sense the concern coming from him. He was worried; about the baby, maybe? They'd lost one already, and now this one was possibly going to be born six weeks before he was supposed to be due. Sam, she mused, had every right to be concerned.

"We can't go to the hospital." He suddenly said about ten minutes later. Haley sat up straight, looking at him.

"You are kidding me, right?" she asked, glaring at what she could see of his face in the rear view mirror. The look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. "Of course you aren't, you never kid about stuff like this." She laid her head back down.

"They'll be expecting us to go there." Sam said. "Even if… Dad and Dean and the others keep the Demon busy back at home, his minions could possess, well, just about anyone in that hospital. We'd be sitting ducks if we went there." As much as she hated to admit it (all Haley really wanted to do right then was get to the hospital and possibly pass out from exhaustion on a hospital bed while the doctor told Sam whether their second baby was going to live or die).

"What time is it?" She suddenly asked. She realized that the sun seemed a lot lower then it should've been.

"About…" Caleb glanced at his watch. "Three-thirty." Haley's eyes would've widened if she'd had the energy. She'd slept like a log last night, and had slept for another… seven hours today. Where was all her energy going?

_Into the baby, _she thought. _Drained by the Demon, by the empathy… _She still had the feeling of being trapped, of the endless struggle for freedom like she'd had back in the house, right before her water had broken. Sam had said she was feeling the baby? Talk about unpleasant thoughts. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if she actually channelled the baby when she was actually giving birth.

"Where will we go?" she asked. She tried to forget about how much time she'd lost sleeping in the last week.

"I… I don't know." Sam admitted. He glanced over at Caleb. "'You know of any abandoned huts or shacks outside of town?" He asked hopefully. His eyebrows rose in surprise when Caleb began his sentence with:

"Well, as matter of fact…"

-;-

"Oh, yes, this is a lovely place to give birth to our first child," Haley muttered as Sam helped her to a couch that had definitely seen better days. "It's right up there with the sewers and a nuclear waste dump." She turned a disgruntled look on Sam. "I am not staying here."

"Well, hey, at least it's… reasonably clean." Sam responded, looking around the small room. That was an overstatement; it looked like the place hadn't seen any kind of cleaning utensils in years. There was about a centimetre of dust coating the floors, half the woodwork appeared to be rotting, and all the furniture looked like _it _had spent a year or so in the sewers.

Haley was staring distastefully at the couch, and finally shook her head, "Forget it; I'll just sit on the floor." She walked over to the wall and sat down, leaning against it. She let out a small sob. "It isn't supposed to be like this. This pregnancy is supposed to be a good thing. But everything just keeps going so wrong." Sam stared at, apparently not knowing what to say. "Why the hell is this happening? Can't we just get a few months peace to have this baby?" She was shouting now, as if she really thought the Demon could hear her.

Sam gave a sigh, and moved to leave the room. A panicked look suddenly reached Haley's face. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"To help Caleb." He said. "We need to salt all the windows and doors, just in case the Demon somehow gets away from Dean and the others." Haley stared at him for a minute, and then quickly nodded.

"Yeah, okay, you… you do that… I'll sit here and wish fervently that this is all a dream and I'm going to wake up and the baby will be born and…" Sam left the room, leaving her to her rambling. He wondered if all women got like this during the first stage of labour, or if it was just Haley.

She sat in the uncomfortable silence for a couple of minutes before another contraction started. Her eyes were squeezed shut; this one felt a little stronger then the last, and it hurt more. From what she could remember (Sam had done most of the labour research and just relayed it to her), that meant the birth was getting closer. She just couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Hey," Caleb said as Sam re-entered the room where he was currently spreading a circle of salt around the door. Well, a half-circle anyway.

"Hey." Sam said back. He looked at the circle of salt, and then back at Caleb. "You need any help?" He asked. The older hunter shook his head.

"Nah, it's not that difficult." Caleb said. Sam nodded. He looked like he hadn't really expected Caleb to except the offer of help, but had decided to make the offer all the same.

"So… you really think the Demon will follow us here?" Sam asked. Caleb shrugged, finishing the circle around the door.

"You never know," he said. "Anyway, better safe then sorry." The older hunter glanced over at Sam, who had a somewhat nervous look on his face. "Hey, don't worry. No demon's are gonna get through these salt circles once I've got them down." He gave Sam a reassuring smile, which Sam returned.

"That's not really what I'm worried about," he said. Caleb raised an eyebrow, and Sam leaned in. "I'm actually worried about how much noise you're going to make when I kill you." Before Caleb could so much as breathe, Sam had his head in both hands, and had twisted it almost all-the way around. There was a sickening crack, and Caleb fell, his head turned at an odd angle.

Standing over his body, Sam gave a cold smile. "Hmmm, guess I had nothing to worry about," he said. And then, like a cloud forming on fast-forward, a sickly-yellow haze spread out over his pupils. "You said it yourself, Caleb; better safe then sorry." The Demon said. "Now I know I'm safe." On that last sentence, his voice had gone a lot deeper, with a lot more malice. Then his eyes returned to normal, and he gave Caleb's body one sound kick (as if making sure he was really dead, like the broken neck wasn't evidence enough), he then he turned around, heading back to where Haley was waiting for him. Well, waiting for Sam.

-;-

**A/N: (_Insert maniacal laughter here_). So, I know I gave away what happened with Laura. Tell me, did I do better here? Hehe, I hope so. Yes, _Daughter of Ipswich_, in answer to your first review, I have done a lot more then considering. I have actually had it planned since the beginning of Eye of the Storm, if not before that, just couldn't say anything because I like surprising (in other words, shocking) people. And I realized how perfectly it fit not long ago, when I remembered that in 'The Phantom Traveller', Dean mentioned that someone who is emotionally vulnerable (not his exact words, but the gist of it) is open to possession, and Sam was definitely emotionally vulnerable. Next chapter will tell you guys just how long he's been possessed, along with a few other explanations.  
Oh, and I hope the fact that this chapter is kind of short is offset by the fact that it is the third update in about three days. If not, at least make sure when you murder me that it's quick, painless and subtle. On that rather unhappy not, I bid thee farewell until the next chapter (don't even ask where that came from, lol).**


	17. Knife's Edge

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: Must we go over this again and again? You know the drill. I don't own, you don't sue. Oh, the 'God among insects' line is from the second X-Men movie, more or less. The knife-head bit came from the original Buffy movie.

**Review Answers**:

_The Kiss of Death _- Lol, you really want this baby to happen, huh? Well, I can say there's a possible maybe of a defintie possiblity that the baby's going to be born happy and healthy (in other words, you can't know yet, lol).

_Spuffyshipper _- Thank you, have done (lol, finished a lot quicker then I expected). Yeah, poor Sam, explanations here. Yes, hehe, I can and I have (poor Haley).

_FireZombie _- Yes! Sorry, had to say that, just glad you didn't suspect Sam of being possessed. Thanks.

_EmSyd _- Thanks.

**Chapter 16**: Knife's Edge

Haley sighed, leaning her head against the wall, trying to relax, trying to forget about the baby that was, right now, trying to squeeze itself out of her body. What she wouldn't give to be out of her body right now. Then again, it was probably a bad idea to think that, given her record.

Something jolted her from her thoughts, her whole body reacting with a startled shudder. She closed her eyes, reaching out without thinking, searching for the traces of whatever had caused the sudden shock. Since sharing Sam's mind, for lack of a better term, when he had been abducted by the Demon, she had found it… easier for her to use her empathy, as though she had somehow opened a door. It was still more or less out of her control when it came to her deciding what she didn't sense (in most cases it meant she sensed just about everything), but she could at least control it enough to use it more or less on command now.

Her eyes snapped open, briefly flashing black before returning to normal. She'd been close to the source of the disturbance; very close, like almost right on top of it if the experience had been physical. But then she'd brushed the edge of something evil. Something very evil; the Demon was her best guess.

And if it was blocking her from the disturbance- whether intentionally or not- that meant it probably had something to do with it. It meant that Caleb was probably dead. And if Caleb was dead, did that mean-?

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened and, much to her relief, Sam walked back in. If she'd felt up to it, she would've thrown herself into his arms to reassure herself that he was there; in the few seconds between her coming to the conclusion that Caleb had been killed by the Demon, and Sam walking back into the room, she'd almost convinced herself that Sam had been killed as well.

"Feeling any better?" Sam asked. Haley shrugged.

"Define better." She said.

"I'll take that as a no." Sam responded. He walked over and sat down beside Haley, and she nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder. The instant they touched, she gave an involuntary shudder and pulled back, her breath quickening. "What is it?" Sam asked. If she'd been able to, Haley would've gotten to her feet and backed away. Since she couldn't, she had to think of something else.

"I… I think something…" She bit her lip. "No, nevermind. I just need a drink of something, uh…" She looked around. "I think I left the water bottle in the car. Could you go get it for me?" Her eyes didn't betray the dishonesty behind the words, seeming as sincere as always. Sam gave her a warm smile that didn't quite reach his eyes; she may not have noticed if she hadn't been looking for it.

"I'll be right back." He said, getting to his feet. Haley waited until she heard the outside door close before reaching for her bag that Sam had brought in with them earlier. Digging down into it, she found a six-inch bladed knife at the very bottom, and pulled it out, turning back around and waiting for Sam to come back into the room, not really believing what she was about to do.

"We must've left it back at the house, 'cause there was-" Sam was cut off as he stepped back into the room by the sound of Haley's knife sailing through the air towards him. His hand flew up, faster then any human possibly could, and caught hold of the knife, catching it by the blade between his middle and ring finger.

"You threw a knife at my head." He exclaimed.

"And you caught it." Haley said. Actually, the knife would've gone right by his head by about a centimetre, but it came pretty close. And it was all the proof Haley needed.

"But… but you threw a knife at my head." Sam repeated. No, not Sam. She knew that now.

"Drop the act." Haley managed through clenched teeth. "I know who you are." Sam watched her for a minute, a mildly amused look on his face. Then the yellow spread out over his pupils. He tossed aside the knife, giving Haley a rather unimpressed look.

"Well, it took you long enough," the Demon said tauntingly. "And here I was thinking I was going to get through this without a hitch." He gave an exaggerated sigh. "But then, I suppose it is better this way. At least now I don't have to keep pretending."

"Let him go." Haley growled.

"No." The Demon said, a smug smile on Sam's lips. "I like being like this, the… power, the… the strength." He smiled, closing his eyes, as if savouring something sweet. Haley glanced at the knife, wondering if- "Don't." The Demon interrupted her thoughts. Sam's eyes opened, still yellow, and he stared at Haley. "Sit down."

"No." She said stubbornly.

"I said: Sit. Down." On the last word, Haley felt something pushing on her, and she was forced down onto the ground. "There, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" The Demon asked. Before Haley could answer, another contraction started. She squeezed her eyes shut; they were getting closer together. Wondering not for the first time if there was something wrong (aside from the premature labour itself), Haley forced her eyes open, glaring at the Demon.

"What do you want?" She managed. "How long has he been like this?" She purposefully avoided actually saying Sam had been possessed, like she was holding onto some false hope that he really wasn't.

"Oh, a while…" The Demon said. "Since… about the time when he found out you'd had a miscarriage." He looked down at Haley, and without warning, the knife lifted off the ground and floated lazily back into his hand.

"So… it was you?" Haley asked. "Why did you help me? Surely there was the possibility I'd sense you if my empathy started working again. Why fix it?"

"Because… there was no possibility." The Demon said simply. "Maybe, before I drank from Sam." He smiled; something else he wanted to savour that sickened Haley. "But no, not now. This is the strongest I've been in years, far stronger then your empathy. And I ought to know. After all…" He leaned in close, cupping her chin with Sam's hand and forcing her to look right into his eyes. "… I gave it to you." Haley's eyes widened.

"What?" She gasped out. The Demon let go of her, knowing he had her full attention now.

"You don't remember, do you?" He asked. "I'm surprised. Most don't remember because they were too young. But you… you managed to escape my notice. Your grandfather's doing, no doubt." He smiled. "It took me a while, but I found you. You, like all the other children, I had to test you." At this point he frowned. "You were far older then all the others. Even then, even without the preparations others had had since the age of six months old, I could see the power that you would have. And I had to make sure it was mine." He turned his full attention back onto her. "So I gave you a gift. One that, until very recently, has remained latent, buried beneath the emotions of your grandmother's talent."

Haley's head was spinning. Not literally of course, but this was beginning to sound a little unbelievable.

"While it's true that some of the women in your family inherit… mild empathic abilities," the Demon continued, "yours is different in one way. Unlike your grandmother, her mother, and her grandmother, you can reach for people. You can touch their minds when they are a thousand mile away with a simple thought." A cold smile came to Sam's lips. "All you needed was the proper trigger." Haley stared into the cold, emotionless yellow eyes that had replaced Sam's own brown ones.

"Sam…" Haley said. "When you took him… that was the first time I… experienced someone else like that… I wasn't just experiencing him. I…"

"You were him," the Demon finished for her. "For the very briefest of moments, at the most basic of levels, you adopted Sam's persona, his thoughts and his perception."

"So why can't I feel him now?" Haley asked, lowering her gaze to the floor, her attention mostly there but also still vaguely aware of the baby that was currently preparing to be born. She didn't really know why she was getting into this conversation with… with the thing that had possessed her husband. There, she'd admitted it.

"You can." The Demon said. "He's in here now… he's screaming, shouting, begging for you…" He smiled, another thing to savour. "… oh… he knows… he knows he _can't win._" Haley looked up suddenly.

"That…" She trailed off, and then started again, "It's not… it never was the baby I was feeling was it?" She asked. "The feeling of being trapped, of fighting to break free, but not winning. It was Sam." She narrowed her eyes. "Fighting you." The Demon gave a pitying laugh, one that didn't go with the young man who had produced it.

"Yes, well… I wouldn't exactly call it fighting." He said. "More like a nasty little insect that I need to swat at every now and again." A brief wait, like he was expecting Haley to say something. When she didn't, he continued. "He screamed for the first couple of days. Screamed, shouted, yelled, cried. Poor boy was absolutely terrified. Felt like he was back in that coffin." Another of those sweet savour-type moments. Haley thought he was getting way to many of those. "Of course, that was partly my doing. It's amazing the various types of mental tortures one can go through within one's own mind."

"You sick bastard." Haley growled.

"Thank you." Was all the Demon said. Haley let out a small sob as another contraction started. Had it really been that long since her last one? For a moment, Haley thought she actually saw concern flash in Sam's demonically-altered eyes. "Does it hurt?" He asked.

"No, it feels like lots of cute little bunnies hopping around inside my gut," Haley said sarcastically. "Oh, no, wait," she now sounded like she'd thought of something important, "that would hurt. A lot. So yes, it hurts." She looked up at Sam, at the Demon. "Why am I even still alive? And why are you even possessing Sam. I thought once you drank his blood we were as good as Apocalypse-ed." The Demon stared down at her for a few seconds. Then he seemed to realized she was serious.

"You don't know?" He asked. "A month and a half to think about it and you still haven't figured it out?" Haley just stared at him like he was crazy. "Do you love Sam?" He asked. Haley did exactly what the Demon had done to her mere minutes earlier. Stared at him until she realized he was being serious.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" She demanded.

"A very simple one, actually." The Demon said. "Do. You. Love. Him?" Haley glared at him, and he gave a smile. "Fine, if you won't answer on your own, I suppose a little incentive is in order." Before Haley could so much as think, the knife in the Demon's hand had moved. Just not to where she had expected. "So, are you going to answer my very simple question? The Demon asked. "Or would you rather me push this knife a little deeper and watch your husband choke on his own blood?" Haley couldn't believe that she had just put Sam in danger simply because she was too stubborn to answer a simple question like that. "Well, Haley? Sam doesn't have to be alive for me to continue to use his body." She saw a thin line of blood just beneath Sam's chin, a warning where the knife edge had cut a little too deep; it wasn't enough to do any real damage, but definitely the incentive required.

"Yes." She said quickly. "Yes, I love him." She gave the Demon a level glare, and he smiled using Sam's lips, lowering the knife.

"That was nice of you, although Sam may disagree. He might've welcomed a release. Poor boy's going out of his mind," his voice was a mockery of concern. "And I should know; I'm in there with him." Haley glared at him. "Hmmm… tough crowd. Okay, tell me this Haley." He looked down at her swollen belly. "Would you say you love Sam, or the baby more?"

Haley was caught off-guard by the question; it was even stranger then the last one. She just hoped the Demon wasn't about to make her choose between one of them.

"I… I don't know. I love them both the same." She said. And that was the honest truth. The Demon nodded.

"Yes, I thought as much," he said. "You see, that's why I'm stuck possessing your overly-vocal husband instead of now inhabiting a body of my own." Haley's brow furrowed. "Still don't understand? I needed your heart's blood Haley. It's kind of hard to drink all of it when there are two who hold it with them." A second. Five. Ten. That's how long Haley stared at him before it finally dawned on her. "Finally figured it out? Good. I'm stuck in this… primitive form… because you can't make a simple decision on where your heart lies." Before her eyes Haley saw the blade knife in the Demon's hand bend as easily as a noodle, like what one often heard about happening to spoons.

"So… that's why I'm not dead yet?" She asked. Sam's lips twisted into a malicious smile.

"I can't be sure the blood will work if the baby is dead, and it will be dead if I kill you, so yes, that is why you're still alive," his voice was cold, emotionless. "So yes, that's why you're not dead, yet. But don't worry," he leaned in close, so close Haley could feel his breath on her face, there noses almost touching, "I plan to rectify that problem as soon as I get what I want."

As they stared (glared) at each other, the sound of a car engine reached their ears. The Demon turned away from her, listening to the car.

"Don't go anywhere." He said, like she wasn't in the process of giving birth and barely able to stand, and then he left without another word.

As soon as he was gone, Haley crawled back over to her bag. She knew she didn't have long; whoever was outside (she prayed it wasn't anyone she knew) would be dealt with quickly, and then the Demon would be back.

She found a journal tucked in between a sweater and a pair of jeans; it was one she and Sam had begun keeping when they'd given John's back. Haley had been sure to copy an exorcism down in case of emergencies, and this definitely qualified as an emergency.

Laying the journal flat in front of her, open to the page with the exorcism, Haley began to chant in Latin under her breath. At some point, not long after she started, she felt the resounding shockwaves of death echoing towards her empathically, but she ignored it, continuing the exorcism. The words fell easily from her lips, like they always did when she got caught up in an exorcism like this.

She came to the end of the exorcism faster then she expected. Looking up, she was startled to see the Demon standing right there in the doorway. He clapped, a mocking look on his face.

"Very nicely done." He said. "Although, as you've no doubt noticed, quite ineffective." He held up his hand, looking down at the body he was possessing. "I felt it… so did Sam. Really got his hopes up, only to have them cut down like kindling." The look on his face told Haley he found it amusing. "Perhaps, before, that might have worked. But I'm far stronger now. I had to be; without the added strength of Sam's blood, I never would've have been able to possess him in the first place." Haley's eyes widened at that. "Yes, that's right." He smiled, a frightening, power-hungry smile. "You're all powerful in your own way, but Sammy… his power… it's beyond anything I could ever hope for. He is a god among insects…" He sighed with distaste suddenly. "And yet he tethers himself to this… humanity. He could stand by my side, rule there with me when I return to power. But he's a coward. He runs and hides when he should accept his gifts; use them as he was meant to."

Haley just stared at him. Sam was afraid? Was that true? She knew he used to have trouble accepting his gifts, but he'd still used them. Was he really afraid of them? Afraid because of something a demon told him?

She let out a sudden cry as she felt something very close to pain coupled with her contraction. The Demon stared at her, a hungry look in his eyes.

"It's starting." He said ominously. Haley let out a shaky breath, closing her eyes, tears beginning to trail down her face, as much from fear as from pain. Unless Dean suddenly came and kicked down the door, she couldn't see anyway possibly way she was going to get out of this.

-;-

**A/N: I know this chapter is mostly filler, but I fell into what I like to call 'Storyteller Mode', where the characters tend to talk a lot about past experiences but the plot itself doesn't go forward very much.**


	18. Miracle

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: I just couldn't be bothered. See any other chapter.

**Author's Note**: I'm not sure if the bit about the heart is accurate. I learned it from a Charmed episode, and that tiny piece of information has stuck with me ever since. Same with the baby and what not. Again, only experience I can remember is from a Charmed episode (Sad, sad, sad, lol).

**Review Answers**:

_The Kiss of Death _- Yaha, that long. Thanks, here's some more for you to read.

_EmSyd _- Thanks, here's more.

_Spuffshipper _- Thanks, have done. Yaha, long time for poor Sammy. Read on to find out. Someone was actually looking forward to that? Colour me surprised (and ignore the dorkiness of that line). I put it back up, because I figured, if someone wants to read it, that incentive enough for me to write it, though I've got a couple other things I'm doing first.

**Chapter 17**: Miracle

Dean shouldered the shotgun he had ready and waiting in case any demons attacked. The bullets were consecrated, so even if the demons were imperious to the pain, they would be repelled at the very least.

However, aside from the initial light flickering that had subsided after a little while, there had been no demonic activity. And it was making Dean nervous.

"Am I the only one who thinks we're being played?" Meg asked. Dean glanced over at her, and the look in his eyes said she definitely wasn't the only one. She looked over at John, leaning against the counter; it was clear he was thinking the same thing, even if his face showed no evidence of him thinking or feeling anything. Bobby, looking out the window for any sign of demonic activity, had his back to everyone, and so it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"Do you think the Demon's going after Sam and Haley?" Dean asked his father. John frowned, the only sign of emotion he'd given since Sam and Haley had left with Caleb.

"If it is, then we don't have much time." He said finally. "If it isn't, we can't just leave on the off chance it will come here."

"I'll stay." Bobby offered. "I can work a few traps in case they decide to show up."

"I'm going." Dean said. That was a given; if Sam was in trouble, Dean was there to pull him out of it. Or, if that failed, to plunge into it after him. He looked over at his father, expecting John to announce he too would be going. But he was staring at Dean. Or more, at something that was on Dean's chest.

"I think you'll be the only one," he said. Dean frowned, staring at his father in a confused manner. Then he looked down at his chest, and something caught his eye.

Looking back up at his father, understanding dawned on the young hunter. "Do I have to do this on my own?" He asked. If there was one thing Dean had really grown to not like over the past years, it was being on his own. But John nodded and, after a quick glance at Meg, who also seemed to understand, Dean left the room.

No sooner had he exited the house then he was hit by violent wave of nausea, falling to his knees, one hand supporting him on the ground, the other arm wrapped around his mid-section. Trying to even his breathing, Dean pulled himself to his feet, feeling as if gravity itself was working against him. Ignoring the endless weight and the nausea, he walked forward, struggling more with each step. He was on the ground again just before he reached the impala.

'_Dean!_' His eyes widened as the voice echoed inside his mind, and he stopped fighting against the unseen forces that were assaulting his body. Almost immediately, the nausea eased, and he felt the weight lifting from his shoulders. He tried to relax, closing his eyes.

"Haley." He whispered, trying find her.

'_Dean…_' The voice was more relaxed now. No, that wasn't the word. Not relaxed, just weaker. So weak it cut Dean up inside. He climbed to his feet, realization hitting him as he ran around to the other side of the impala and climbed in. Up until just a moment ago, he'd intended to go to the hospital and hope he could track Sam and Haley down there. Now he knew, that would've been a waste of precious time. Haley was in danger; that much he knew. And she was definitely _not_ at the hospital. Luckily, Dean now knew exactly where she _was_.

He just hoped Sam okay; the way she had sounded, the way she had felt… It was the feeling of defeat, finally giving in to whatever she had been fighting so hard against.

"Don't worry, guys, I'm coming," he said, pulling out of the driveway. "Just hold on."

-;-

Just hold on… Haley's eyes were closed, her breath coming in and out in short, exhausted pants. Her resolve was shattered, her energy exhausted. All she really wanted to do was sleep.

The contraction that sent pain through her reminded her that sleep was not an option right now. She'd tried to fight it, tried to just make the contractions stop. No such luck; the baby was ready to be born. He wanted to be born. And there was nothing Haley could do to stop it.

The only good thing she could find in this situation was that the Demon hadn't sensed her when she'd penetrated the smothering darkness that now radiated from him (it seemed that whether he was hidden from her empathy or not was entirely up to him; when he wasn't, the evil emanating from him was almost enough to suffocate Haley if she so much as tried to sense anything else). It had exhausted her, almost killed her she suspected, and she wasn't even sure if it was worth it. Despite the fact she was sure she had reached Dean, she knew how defensive he became when supernatural forces tried to invade his body, so Haley had no idea if he'd received what she'd sent. But at least the Demon didn't know she'd tried.

Her eyes still closed, Haley tried futilely to hold onto the baby. But it was no use; when a baby came, it came, no real choice in the matter. Not when you were giving birth in an abandoned shack on the outskirts of town anyway.

"You need to relax." Sam said reassuringly, kneeling down beside her. She looked up at him, at his comforting smile, the warmth in his eyes, and she just looked away.

"Don't," she said. "Just… don't." She didn't really know what good she would do, giving the Demon orders, but she couldn't bear looking into Sam's beautiful, loving eyes and know it wasn't him looking back at him. Unable to stop herself, she looked back up, and saw that in those few seconds, the warmth had left his face, the love banished from his eyes. His eyes were yellow once again, filled with a sick mirth Haley would probably never understand.

"I wasn't lying," the Demon said. "You need to relax. You don't want to kill yourself and the baby, now do you?" To be perfectly honest, the thought had been pushing against Haley's mind often enough in the past hour or so (she didn't really have any way to tell how much time has passed). She kept trying to ignore it, but it kept pushing back, because it really did seem like it may be her only option. Could she willingly give birth to her baby, knowing that it would bring about the Demon's restoration to full power?

But another question pestered every time she so much as thought that: was she really capable of ending her own life and her child's for the chance of stopping the Demon?

And where did Sam factor into all this. On the off chance that he somehow escaped the Demon's hold, the death of both his wife and his son would devastate him, if it didn't break him on the spot. A month and a half enduring who-knew what torments at the hands of a sadistic, centuries-old Demon, and then coming out of that just in time to learn that-

"Anyone home in there?" The Demon asked, interrupting Haley's thoughts. She glared up at him. "Guess so." The smile he gave Haley really didn't fit with her Sam. Cold, taunting, and malicious were just a few of the words that immediately leapt to mind when she saw it.

Without warning, Haley reached out, and instead of recoiling from the evil that the Demon's presence was swathed in, she bathed in it, taking strength from it. The black of her pupils spread out over her eyes and she threw the Demon backwards across the room telekinetically.

Her eyes closed almost as soon as he was off the ground, and she slumped back against the wall. It had probably not been a good idea to pull such a stunt as that, as weakened as she was. But it was worth it to see the stunned look on the Demon's stolen face.

"If you're going to wait for me to give birth, fine, I can't stop you" she said acidly. "But until then, back off!" Her voice was far more commanding that she had thought she could muster. Far from backing off, the Demon grinned cockily as he got to his feet. Actually, the way he was smiling, the way he was moving, made Sam seem like an irresponsible teenager who liked to bend the rules beyond repair.

"Well, it looks like the little wife has some backbone," he said. Haley narrowed her eyes, though to be perfectly honest she felt like closing them all the way and just falling asleep. "Okay," the Demon continued, nodding, an accepting smile on Sam's lips. "Call me when it's time," he said mockingly, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Haley leaned her head back against the wall. "Oh god, Dean, hurry!" She muttered, her voice cracking as she felt another contraction begin.

Somewhere between the end of that one, and the beginning of the next one, Haley heard the door open.

"You know, would you just make up your-" She stopped short as she opened her eyes. "Oh, please tell me I'm not dream of hallucinating or any of that." She whispered breathily, barely audibly. Closing the door as quietly as possible, Dean turned back to look at Haley. She was a mess; her hair dishevelled and matted with sweat, her face even paler then it had been. What scared Dean the most was the tinge of blue her lips were beginning to adopt. OF course, he didn't look much better. In fact, if not for the fact that the look in his eyes was radiating such determination and strength, Haley would have been sure he should've passed out from exhaustion by now.

"Don't worry, you're not dream," he said, darting forward. He knelt down beside her, and without warning, she threw her arms around him.

"Dean… Dean… it's Sam… he's the one who's been doing all this; the Demon's got him." She whispered in his ear between the sobs.

"Got him?" Dean asked, pulling back. "Got him, as in…?" He didn't really want to say it, but Haley just nodded weakly, understanding what he didn't want to say.

Dean felt as though he'd been punched repeatedly in the stomach. The look on his face told Haley that. So why didn't she feel like that?

"Why… can't I sense you?" She asked; maybe not the most pressing matter, but Dean was inside the evil cloud the Demon was radiating; he should be wide open to being sensed.

"The same way the Demon doesn't know I'm here." Dean said absently, still not quite over what he'd just heard. He blinked, shaking his head. There'd be time to deal with that later. He cleared his throat, and reached down the neck of his shirt, removing something that hung on a long leather band as a necklace.

It was the protection amulet Dean always wore. Haley wasn't really sure of its origins, or how Dean had come by it. Up until now, she hadn't even known what it was, or had been, used for. Even now, she wasn't sure.

"It's a… a spell, I guess, that can be activated for a short time, it was placed on the amulet." Dean said. "It takes a lot out of the caster, but it also shields them from supernaturally enhanced senses." That explained why he looked a little worn out. He looked at Haley for a minute, at her pale skin, the exhaustion in her eyes. There was no way she'd be able to walk out without his help, and right at that moment it was mostly adrenaline and the possibility (now the confirmation) that Sam was in danger that was keeping him going. He didn't think either of them would get very far if they tried to flee. On the other hand, if they stayed, the Demon was sure to realize Dean was there, and then any chance of Haley escaping would be ruined.

The choice was taken out of his hands as soon as the door swung open. Before Dean could even breathe in, he was lifted off the floor and thrown against the wall. He let out a groan as all the air was knocked from his lungs. He tried to move, but as he'd expected, he was being held against the wall by the telekinetic hold the Demon had on him.

"Dean." The Demon said in Sam's voice, sounding so much like his younger brother Dean was almost fooled. "I'm glad you finally got here. I was afraid you wouldn't figure it out in time," he grinned, like he was talking about going down to the store to get milk. "Then I'd have to go out and actually _look for you _so that I could kill you." Okay, that kind of spoiled the little brother act.

"I gotta congratulate you," Dean said in a sarcastic voice. "You had this all planned out pretty well. There's just some thing you weren't counting on." One of Sam's eyebrows lifted, but the Demon appeared to have lost interest in Dean, returning his attention to Haley. Well, Dean was about to change that. "Dad's got a crossbow pointed right at you; right through that window." He nodded towards the window on the other side of the room. Sam's surprised gaze turned towards Dean. "You make a move, any move, and he's gonna pull the trigger. And the arrow's soaked in Haley's blood." The Demon continued to stare at him for a long minute before speaking.

"You honestly expect me to believe John would shoot his own son right through the heart for the chance of killing me?" The Demon asked. But he didn't move.

"He's hunted you longer then I have," Dean said. "You tell me." He stared right back at the Demon, at Sam's eyes. He wished like hell the Demon would let his own eyes show; he couldn't' stand the idea that it wasn't Sam behind those eyes

The Demon closed Sam's eyes, and the room fell into an uneasy silence broken only by Haley's laboured breathing and the gasps of pain she let out every few seconds.

"You think I'm an idiot?" The Demon finally asked, opening Sam's eyes. Dean had gotten his wish; they were no longer _Sam's_ eyes.

"You _want_ me to answer that question?" Dean asked, a mocking look in his eyes. Sam's lips twisted into a sneer.

"There's no one out there," the Demon said. "You're completely on your own." He'd used just the right words to cause a moment of panic to rush into Dean, before he remembered Haley was there as well. Small comfort, but enough. "And what's more, this is all your fault." Dean scoffed, trying to cover up his momentary slip.

"Oh yeah? And how do you figure that?" He asked. "What, you think I told Sam to get possessed by you? Or was I the one who got Haley pregnant with your antidote? Or maybe I-"

"You let me live." The Demon said simply, cutting Dean off abruptly. Right away, the discomfort Dean felt and being reminded of his decision was visible, but once again, he tried to cover it up.

"Yeah, well, unlike you, I don't brush aside my family at a moments notice simply because it's convenient." He said, though his voice shook as he did.

"Ah yes, Meg." The Demon sneered. "Tell me, how is the little whore doing? She enjoying her freedom?" He leaned in close to Dean. "The first thing I do when I'm restored to power will be killing her. Slowly, and painfully. I think I'll make you watch." He added as an afterthought. "But we're straying from the subject." He turned away from Dean, toward Haley. "Did you know Dean is responsible for this situation?" He asked conversationally. Haley glared up at him, clearly not interested in a conversation. The Demon wasn't giving her much choice though. "He could've killed me, but instead he had to be the honourable man and hold up his end of the bargain. It's his fault I was strong enough to possess Sam." He got right up in her face. "It's his fault you're going through this."

"Shut up!" Dean shouted at him from where he was held. Turning away from Haley, the Demon smiled cruelly at Dean.

"What's wrong? Can't handle the truth, Dean?" He asked. "It's all there in black and white. If not for you, none of this would be happening." It hurt even more then it was Sam saying it, or at least Sam's voice. It didn't matter that he knew it wasn't actually him. He said it so perfectly, exactly the way Sam would've said it. If he was sadistic monster only interested in making his friends and family suffer, that is.

Time for a different approach to this, "Okay, maybe you're right," he said. This definitely got the Demon's attention. "Maybe this is my fault, you being here, you possessing Sammy." People who were suffering emotionally were vulnerable to possession. Once they were possessed, the demon had them, they were nothing, it would break them, hurt them and their family, do whatever it took to keep them obedient. So what happened when the suffering ended? No, not that way. When it ended as in they got over the suffering. If they fought back with a clear mind? "I'm sorry, Sammy." He said, his voice low. "I'm sorry I did this to you." Then the look in his eyes changed. "But you know what? I'm not the one who's possessed. You think that just because this… _thing _has taken over your body, you can just roll over and let it happen?" The Demon seemed to find his new approach amusing. "You're the strongest person I know, Sammy. The things you've been through, the things you've seen and done. There aren't many people that could keep going after all that. But you did. You're still alive, and somewhere in there, you're as strong as ever." He took a deep breath. "So get up off your lazy ass and fight this!" He almost shouted. Without warning, a hand was suddenly around his throat. Sam's hand. Only Sam wasn't in control.

"I think you want to shut up now." The Demon hissed, leaning in so close Dean he feel Sam's breath on his face. His hand was shaking, and Dean gave him a cocky grin.

"He heard me." He said. The response was a sharp backhand across that left his cheek stinging.

"Didn't I just tell you to shut up?"

"I guess Sam's not the only one with some chinks in his armour." Dean said. The Demon stared at Dean, not doing anything now, not saying anything. Then Sam's lips twisted into a smile, his eyes turning yellow. Dean stared for a few seconds, not really sure what to think.

Then his chest heave and he gave a sharp intake of breath. One that didn't go anywhere.

"How does it feel, Dean? To have your heart ripped out?" the Demon asked. Dean's chest continued to heave as his heart struggled to beat, as the air was slowly squeezed from his lungs. "Now you know what it's like." He stared into those yellow eyes, confusion in his own. The Demon smiled at him. "You know that little exorcism of yours?" He asked. Dean gasped for air that refused to come. "That was my daughter."

"Wh-"

"What, you think that, just because I'm a demon I can't have family?" the Demon growled. "You tore out my proverbial heart, boy." He smiled. "Now I'm paying you back, in the literal sense." Dean cried out as a particularly sharp tug almost did tear his heart out of his chest. But it stayed in place, continued its struggle to keep beating.

"Dean!" Haley cried, unable to get up and help him.

"Sam…" Dean gasped out.

"You know, the human heart take fifteen to twenty seconds to stop beating after it's damaged." The demon said. "Since we haven't actually done any damage to it yet…" Dean cried out as the hold tightening just a little more. "… Let's see how much longer we can make it last." Dean cried out again. His lungs were allowed just enough air to keep him conscious, and that was it. The Demon didn't want to kill him. He wanted to hurt him, make him suffer.

"Sammy… don't let him…" Dean began, his eyes pleading, but he was cut off as the Demon squeezed even tighter. It was horrifying to think this thing could do so much damage to his internal organs without even opening him up.

Haley let out a cry then, her eyes wide. Up until then, she hadn't voice her pain. Now she looked like it was the only thing on her mind.

"Sam…" Dean's eyes rolled back as the closed, and his head slumped forward.

"Dean!" Haley cried out once more, seeing her brother-in-law hanging seemingly by nothing.

"D-Dean." Sam's voice gasped out. His eyes had returned to normal, and tears were already welling up when he saw his brother's limp form. Dean fell from whatever hold the Demon had had on him, hitting the floor.

"Sam." Haley breathed out. He spun around, saw Haley lying against the wall.

"Haley. Oh god, I-" Whatever he was going to say was cut off sharp intake of breath. His hands went to his temples, eyes squeezing shut. "No… no… stay… out!" The dust was starting to lift in mini-whirlwind that had begun to swirl around Sam. What little furniture there was in the room was suddenly pressed flat against the wall. The windows had shattered. The only ones in the room not affected by this sudden surge of telekinesis were Haley and Dean.

And then it all just stopped. The dust settled, the furniture stopped twitching against the walls, and the energy that had filled the room just… vanished. And when Sam's eyes opened, they were yellow again.

"Well, that I didn't expect." The Demon said.

"No?" The Demon turned. Dean was on his feet. He was leaning heavily against the wall, his voice was weak, and he looked just about ready to fall over again. But he was on his feet, a look of determination in his eyes. "How about this?" And then he threw himself at Sam. It was probably the pure stupidity of the move that caught the Demon off-guard, which was a good thing.

Sam's fist came flying up at Dean's face, and Dean caught it with his own, squeezing his fingers between Sam's and clamping down on his brother's hand. "Get. Out. Of. Him." He growled.

"What're you going to do?" The Demon asked. Then something happened he didn't expect. There was a faint hissing, looking cold water against a scolding-hot surface. The sound of two opposites colliding, making a connection.

"This." Dean growled. He didn't know how to use it, didn't even know what it was. But something inside of him reacted to evil. Not small evils, like vampires, spirits, or even lesser demons. Real evils, evils that existed solely because of what a person was, because the balance that was forever being tipped from one side to the other within the confines of the human mind and soul. Despite his doubts, despite everything he'd done and what he believed, Dean fell squarely into only one side.

"No! No, stop it!" The Demon shouted. Dean was thrown backwards off of Sam, against the wall once again. But he hadn't let go, and Sam was dragged along with him, almost yanking both their arms out of their sockets in the process. "What are you doing?"

"What I have to!" Dean shouted back. Sam's hand and arm now felt like it was on fire. But Sam wasn't the one feeling the pain. He felt none of it, because he wasn't the one being targeted. "Now get the _hell_ out of my brother!" The Demon's yellows eyes glared daggers at Dean. Then he threw Sam's head back, and a roaring scream filled the room as the Demon fled from Sam's body, the black smoke-like substance diving downward and vanishing between the floorboards. Sam tilted backwards, but Dean caught him before he fell, pulled him close, and then slid down the wall, totally exhausted.

"Sammy, I'm so, so sorry!" He whispered. "I'm sorry I put your through that! I'm sorry my mistake got you possessed and I'm-"

"Dean…" Sam cut him off, and Dean looked down expectantly at his younger brother, waiting for the angry yelling. "It's Sam." Was all the younger hunter said. Dean blinked, staring down at his brother. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off before he could start.

"Guys! Baby. Coming. Now!" Haley practically screamed.

"We know, Haley, it's been coming for-"

"No, I mean its coming!" Now she _was _screaming. And she was breathing in short, panicked breaths. "Do something already!" She cried. Both Winchester brothers crawled over to her as fast as they could, neither in any condition right then to get fully to their feet.

"What do we do?" Dean asked, shotting his brother an expectant look.

"I-I don't know." Sam said, looking pretty close to panic himself. "I don't know." He repeated. Haley cried out again. But it was weaker this time. "Okay, uh… you're in the… the second stage of labour… where the baby's just about to be born."

"Oh, you think?" Haley groaned.

"Uh… I think… the most important thing right now is that you…" He tried to think. What the Demon had researched as him was stored somewhere in his memory, he just had to try and find it. "Okay, don't push…" He said. "That's the last thing you need to do right, because it could…" He couldn't remember what it would do, but it was bad. "Just, breathe… intense breathing, I think that's what it said."

"Tell you what… you squeeze something this big out of your _ass_, and then you try some intense breathing." Haley said.

"Breathe!" Sam all-but shouted. He hadn't meant to sound so harsh, and he tried to understand where Haley was coming from, but damnit, did she have to be so infuriating?

"Wait, I see a head!" Dean said suddenly. Sure enough, a tiny baby head had become visible.

"Okay… uh… head, once the head's all the way out-"

"Get to the point." Haley said with a sob. She looked exhausted. Her breathing was far more erratic then it should've been, even in the state she was in.

"You need to push now." Sam said. Haley gave a sarcastic laugh.

"Sam, I couldn't push if my-"

"You have to, Haley." Sam interrupted. "Come on, I know you can do it." He took her hand in hers. "I know you can do this." She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. Then she squeezed her eyes shut, her grip tightening in his, and her face scrunched up in effort as she pushed.

"Dean?" Sam asked, now sitting beside Haley.

"Again, push again."

And Haley did.

"Again, come on, Haley, push."

"Push yourself!" Haley muttered, but she did as she was told, putting all she had into the third and final push, screaming with the effort it took.

Silence. For just a second. And then the sound of a baby crying filled the room.

"It… it work." Dean gasped out. "The baby, he's… he's beautiful." This was definitely a side of Dean Sam couldn't recall ever seeing. He was staring down at the tiny screaming infant in his hands, his eyes filled with the same love that showed all-too-rarely when he looked at Sam or Haley. He cleared his throat quickly. "S-Sam, get something to cut the cord." He said.

"The… the what?"

"The umbilical cord, it needs to be cut." Dean said.

"Oh, uh… right." Sam said. He let Haley's hand fall from his as he ran to their bags, hoping there would be something to use to cut the cord. Luckily, one of the bags happened to contain what was needed in case, for some reason, Haley had to give birth away from a hospital. In hindsight, the Demon had probably done it specifically because it knew she would be giving birth away form the hospital. He grabbed the small pair of scissors, as well as a blanket to wrap the baby in.

After the briefest of arguments over who had to cut the cord (they hunted supernatural monsters for a living but the idea of doing something like this made both of them feel squeamish), Sam reached down and with a quick snip the cord was cut.

The baby was lying in Dean's hands, but he quickly handed the distraught infant over to Sam, whose face was practically glowing with the happiness he was feeling. He was staring down at the baby as he wrapped the yellow blanket around him, looking like he never wanted to let him go. Tears of joy were welling up in his eyes, and he looked over Haley, who looked exhausted, shaken to the core, worn to a thread, but the look on her face, the pure joy in her eyes, pushed all of that aside, and without hesitation, Sam held their baby out to Haley, who took him, holding him close.

All three Winchesters stared down at the newest addition to the family, all evidence of the night's ordeal wiped from their minds as the baby finally began to calm down, his tiny eyes opening and looking up at the three strange giants staring down at him. All three of them were smiling, and all three of them looked like they were trying very hard not to cry (yes, even Dean).

"Look at our little boy, Sam." Haley said, though not one of them were willing to take their eyes of the child, who continued to stare up at them. "Look at what we helped create. Our own little miracle."

-;-

**A/N: Okay, first of all, I hope the explanation about Dean's 'power' wasn't too ramble-like/unbelievable. I was trying to make it as realistic as I could.**

**I originally had a bit of an angsty ending planed (okay, very angsty), but I just couldn't bring myself to spoil the happiness (I may be twisted, but I'm also hopelessly sentimental, no matter how much I try to deny it). I hope it turned out okay.**

**Now, there's only one or two chapters left, depending how the next one goes. The next one may turn into the epilogue, I'm not sure yet. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was really difficult to right, but I'm definitely not disappointed with the way it turned out. I think it turned out great. Hope ya'll enjoyed it. Until next time, Cyas.**


	19. Epilogue: The Calm Within the Storm

**Eye of the Storm**

**Disclaimer**: See just about any other chapter.

**Author's Note**: This is it, the end of Eye of the Storm. The time the baby has to spend in hospital if they're born premature is probably inaccurate, but hey, this is fanfiction, not to mention an AU, so it's allowed to be a little inaccurate.

**Review Answers**:

_FireZombie_ – Yay, great, thanks.

_EmSyd_ – Thanks, great, thanks, here's more (here's all).

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_Spuffyshipper_ – Thanks, this soon enough? Oh, good, I was a little worried about how that'd be received. Glad to see you liked it.

**Epilogue**: The Calm Within the Storm

"_I've lied about a lot of things, but believe me when I say: you're the one thing I would never lie about."_

"_Why would you tell me this?"_

"_Why do you think?"_

_Silence, for a long minute as he considered this. And then he asked a new question._

"_How long?"_

"_You'll know when it's time."_

Sam's eyes opened; he was in bed, in his room.

"_I'll be waiting."_

He blinked, and then sat up, breaking whatever connection had allowed the dream he'd just as experience as the last fragments of sleep lost its hold on him.

"Sam?" Dean's voice came from the other side of the bedroom door. "Sam, you awake in there?"

"Yeah."

"For how long?"

"Uh…"

"Whatever." Dean interrupted. "If you're not up and ready to go soon I'm leaving without you." Sam sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Dean, the baby's barely a week old." He said. "I don't think he's going to mind if his uncle's away from the observation window for more then a few hours."

"Yeah, but his uncle does." Dean shot back.

"Dean, please don't refer to yourself in the third person, it's very disconcerting." Sam said.

"Uh-huh." Dean said. "Anyway-"

"Dean, you _can_ come in you know." There was silence for a minute. Then…

"I can?"

"Yeah, it's not like there's anything in here you haven't seen before." Sam said with a mischievous grin. The door flew open.

"Now I'm worried." Dean said. "Since when are you so offhand about your modesty?"

"Since my wife gave birth to an adorable baby boy who turned my brother into a caring human being." Sam said with a grin.

"You tell anyone that and I'll deny it, then I'll kill you." Dean said, shooting his brother a grin of his own. "Now hurry up, I was serious about leaving you behind."

"Give me ten minutes to shower, get dressed and eat breakfast."

"Five minutes; skip the shower and eat in the car."

"Seven; I'll eat in the car but still have a shower." Sam said. Dean narrowed his eyes at Sam.

"You drive a hard bargain."

"Don't I know it," Sam said. "Just remember whose son it is you're so lovingly attached to." Dean considered this, or pretended to, and then gave a long, exaggerated sigh.

"Fine, I'll put the toast on; you'd better be down there in seven minutes." He said, turning and leaving the room. Shaking his head, Sam couldn't help but smile and how much better life had gotten. Although Haley was back in the hospital (her heart was still weak from the drugs she'd been given during the miscarriage, and the doctors had said it was a miracle it hadn't given up during the birth), she was at least in a much better mood now that the baby had been born. And Dean was happier then he had ever been before in his life, even though Meg was currently spending more time at the hospital to keep Haley company then with him (which, Sam realized, didn't mean much, considering how much time Dean was spending at the hospital lately).

Missouri was also an almost-constant presence around Haley, and even John managed to make an appearance every couple of days, and when he did he stayed for at least a few hours, getting up-to-date on how Haley and the baby were doing. Sam had been surprised when he'd overheard his father talking to Haley about wanting to actually be a part of his grandson's life. Trying to make up for the shitty way he'd treated his sons, no doubt. And as far as Sam was concerned, it was the best news he'd had since the doctors had told him that the baby stood a very good chance of survival.

"Six minutes." Dean shouted. "I'm not hearing any running water."

"Okay, I'm showering." Sam shouted back, getting up out of bed, grabbing some clothes from the semi-clean pile in the corner (where else were they going to go? The baby's nursery took up the closet), and headed for the bathroom.

His gaze passed over the mirror briefly, but he quickly turned back to it. All he saw was his own face and the bathroom reflected in it. But he had been sure there was someone else, like a shadow.

He was reminded of the dream he'd had. Not a dream, a memory. Of what had happened while he was possessed. The memories had been flooding his dreams relentlessly for the past seven nights. Always the same conversation.

His reflection stared back at him, and Sam suddenly felt like it was taunting him somehow. Without warning, his eyes went wide and the mirror shatter, spraying jagged pieces of glass at him as though it had been struck from behind. His hands went to his head as soon as the glass had broken. The headache beating against his skull made it feel like his brain was trying to explode. The pieces of glass seemed to hit an invisible wall, because they came within a few inches of impaling Sam, and then simply fell to the floor.

Sam was on his knees without even realizing it, rocking back and forth with his head in his hands. He heard the door open, on the edge of his perception, and then a pair of strong hands had taken hold of his shoulders.

"Sam." Dean's voice reached out to him through the pain. "Sam, are you there, are you with me?"

"Yeah… argh." Sam gasped out. Clenching his hands in fists, tangling his fingers up in his hair, and forced himself to look up into Dean's eyes. "It'll pass… I just… lost control."

"Okay, I'm gonna go get you some water. I'll be-"

"No!" Sam cried as Dean had started to get up. One hand left his head and seized Dean's shoulder. "Don't… go." He whispered. "It… it hurts more when I'm alone." Dean stared at his brother, took in the pain etched into his face, the barely contained tears in his eyes, and slowly nodded, kneeling back down in front of him. Sam leaned forward and rested his forehead on Dean's shoulders, his breaths fast and shaky, and Dean put a reassuring arm around him. Slowly, ever so slowly, the younger man began to relax.

"You okay?" Dean asked after a few minutes. The half-hearted nod against his shoulder wasn't very convincing, but he figured it was better not to push. "Mind telling me what that was about?" He asked. So much for not pushing.

"I lost control." Sam whispered meekly. "I just… I had a dream last night, and when I looked in the mirror…" He looked up. "You have no idea what it's like to be forced to look in the mirror every day for over a month and know it's not you that's staring back."

Dean stared at his brother for a minute. Sam had been avoiding talk of the possession all week, to the point of leaving the room whenever someone so much as mentioned the Demon. To have him suddenly talk about it without anyone prodding surprised Dean. But then again, Sam had always been better at something if he was allowed to do it in his own time. One of the reasons why he'd disliked their life as hunters so much.

"Okay, you go downstairs and have your shower, I'll clean this up." He said finally. Sam nodded, and slowly got to his feet, walking out of the room slowly, his hand absently rubbing his head, as if as an afterthought and not actually for the pain. Dean didn't really notice, having gotten the broom out of the cupboard and started sweeping up the bits of glass into a small pile, and then into the dustpan, which he then took down to the kitchen, dumping the broken bits of glass into the bin.

Sam joined him not long after, his hair damp, dressed in a blue t-shirt and a pair of old jeans that Dean thought he gave to Sam for his eighteenth birthday.

"Hey, you feeling better?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," Sam said. A few minutes of awkward silence later, he said, "Look, Dean, I'm sorry you had to see that. I… I thought I'd gotten it under control, but when I saw the mirror, I just-"

"Hey." Dean cut across his brother. "It's fine. I mean, if nothing else, I'm there to catch you when you fall. What else are brother's for?" He gave Sam a smile that was all-too uncommon these days. It was the kind of smile that had no strings attached. Sam returned it gladly.

"So, where's my drive-thru breakfast?" Sam asked. Dean pointed to the toaster, which had two slices of bread in it, and then to the bin, which had two slices of toast in it.

"The first two went cold." He said with a shrug.

-;-

"Please, please, please tell me you're here to bust me out." Haley said as soon as Sam walked into the room.

"Haley, this is a hospital, not prison." Sam said with a grin.

"The food sucks and I'm not allowed to leave. That's prison in my books." She shot back, lying back against her pillows.

"I hope she hasn't been too much trouble." Sam directed at Meg as he took a seat on the chair closest to Haley's bed.

"Oh, you know, some thrown food here, a fist-fight there, nothing to major." Meg said with a cheerful grin on her face.

"Well, so long as she wasn't hurt." Sam said, giving Haley a quick kiss on the lips, which she returned whole-heartedly. Then she put her hand on the back of his head and wouldn't let go, forcing the kiss to continue. He didn't make any attempts at breaking away.

Until he heard the distinct sound of someone clearing their throat, and he pulled back, much to Haley's disappointment. They both looked over to the door and saw Haley's doctor standing there. Sam gave him a sheepish grin, and then stood up.

"I'm going to go see how Dean's going. Chance's are, he's found his way to the baby again." Giving Haley another quick kiss (this time really), he turned and left the room.

As he'd suspected, Dean was standing at the observation window looking into the room where all the babies were.

"Did he miss you?" Sam asked, causing Dean to jump nearly a foot in the air. Turning a startled look towards his brother, Dean shook his head.

"Are you _trying _to give me a heart attack?" He asked.

"No, not really," Sam said, his face with a look of total innocence that could only mean guilt. Chuckling, Dean turned back to the window.

"You know, I can remember when you were in there." He said.

"Me?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Dean said, a small smile on his lips. "Same place, Sammy. We were both born right here in this hospital." He thought for a minute. "Well, you were. Apparently I was a little over-eager, and Mum gave birth to me in the car." Sam laughed at that. "Dad brought me up here a couple of days after Mum gave birth to you. He brought me right up against the window, pointed to you, and he said 'You see that, Dean? That's your little brother. That's Sammy.'" Sam smiled solemnly at the memory Dean was giving him. Then he noticed something he thought he'd never see up close.

"Dude, are you crying?"

"No!" Dean said a little too quickly, wiping his eyes. "I'm just… no, I'm not crying." Sam grinned, and without warning, put an arm around his brother's shoulders, pulling him into a tight side-long hug. "You see that, Dean? That's my son. That's Tommy." Dean pulled out of Sam's hold, shooting his brother a filthy look. Then it softened, and he frowned.

"Tommy?" He repeated the name. "Where'd that come from, it's familiar?"

"Grandpa's name was Thomas. Mum's Dad." Sam's grin widened. "Haley somehow got her hands on our old family tree before the baby was born. I think Jenny's been passing on all of our old stuff to Missouri, because Haley found heaps of stuff in her basement." Dean nodded absently. There were a few times he could remember, before their mother had been killed, when their grandparents would visit. And a couple of times after she'd been killed, before John had really started hunting, when he'd drop Dean and Sam off to spend a few days with Mary's parents while he went out and dealt with her death as best he could.

"Sounds good to me," he said.

"Well, good, because you don't really get a choice in the matter." Sam said jokingly.

"Aw, what? The uncle has no say in the baby's name?"

"Not in this family."

-;-

The front door to the Winchester's home opened, and in walked Haley, baby in her arms. Right behind her came Sam, and then Dean and Meg hand-in-hand. Sam dumped their bags by the door as Dean closed it, and then the group moved into the kitchen. Haley inhaled as if trying to breathe the scene in.

"Home sweet home." She said. Then she turned on the other three. "Did I mention how happy I am to be out of there?" Sam laughed.

"Yeah, it only really sank in after you'd mentioned it for the fiftieth time on the drive back." He said.

"Well, as long as it sank in." Haley said with a smile. Tommy, obviously realizing everyone's attention was no longer on him, began to cry. Loudly. Sam couldn't help but laugh at the timing.

"I think someone might be hungry." He said, looking at Haley.

"That makes two of us." Haley responded.

"Well, that's good, because, you see," Sam and Haley both looked over at Dean, "Meg and I are going to be cooking dinner tonight. Sort of a welcome home meal for Haley." Dean looked a little embarrassed by the announcement. Rolling her eyes, Meg picked up where he'd let off.

"And what we're having is going to be a surprise. So until we're ready, neither of you are allowed in the kitchen. Or within smelling range." Sam and Haley exchanged smiles. "So, you two just… stay upstairs; spend some time with the baby. Dean and I will call you when we're ready." At mention of the baby, Dean suddenly had a look of indecisiveness on his face.

"Actually, you know, I could go up with them, make sure they don't-"

"Dean."

"What?" Dean's voice was close to a whine.

"Fridge, now." Meg ordered. A look of disappointment briefly crossed Dean's face. Then he grinned, shrugged at Sam and Haley, and then walked over to the fridge to get what they'd need for the dinner. Satisfied, Meg turned back to Sam and Haley, who both seemed to be struggling not to laugh. "And you two, you get out of here, go enjoy some time with your son. And no sneaking downstairs and spoiling the surprise."

With affirmative nods of obedience, Sam and Haley left the kitchen, Tommy still crying loudly in his mother's arms. Smiling at Sam, Haley handed the baby to him, slipped one arm out of her loose blouse so as to lower it, and then did the same with her bra. Sam's eyes widened in surprise and amusement, before Haley took back Tommy and held him to the breast she had exposed. A few seconds later, he was happily suckling, with Sam standing their, still watching in amusement.

"What? It's not like we're in public." Haley said with a shrug. Doing her best not to move the baby while he was suckling, she walked towards the stairs. Grinning, Sam followed. At the foot of the stairs, he swept Haley up into his arms, baby and all. "Sam, don't," Haley laughed. "Don't be crazy, you can't carry me and the baby up the stairs."

"Watch me." Sam said with a grin, already beginning the ascent. At the top, he set Haley gently down on her feet, grinning broadly. "Told you I could do it." He said in a child-like voice.

"Yes, you're my big, strong man." Haley said. "And if the baby wasn't currently feeding, I'd have my arms wrapped around you."

"Doesn't mean I can't have mine around you." Sam said, wrapping his arms gently around Haley, being extra careful not to put any pressure on the baby. She smiled up at him, content to be held by him for the moment.

"He's stopped." Haley said after a little while, looking down at the baby. "I heard some of them didn't take very long." Sam grinned.

"Why don't you go put him to bed," he said.

"And what are you going to do?" Haley asked, a look of curiosity on her face.

"Something I'd prefer to do on my own." Sam said. Haley frowned, and then her eyes widened.

"Oh, okay." She said, nodding and turning towards their bedroom, realizing what he was talking about. Shaking his head, Sam turned towards the bathroom.

The mirror was still broken; Dean thought it would be a better idea to leave it like that until Sam was sure he'd gotten himself under control. Sam was inclined to agree with him.

He was just finishing his business when the beginnings of a headache started. Putting his hands to his head, he took a step back, zipping up the front of his jeans.

"_Pulse is dropping."_

Sam's eyes widened, and took a step back, finding himself against the wall. He groaned, putting his hands to his head and sliding down to the floor.

"No… not now…" He gasped out, his breath quickening. "Not now." He repeated.

"_All clear?"_

"_Clear."_

_His body heaved as the voltage rocked through it._

A small sob escaped him and his back arched, his head slamming lightly against the wall. Biting down on his lip to keep from crying out, he squeezed his eyes shut. Just out of the corner of his eye, he saw various objects beginning to float into the air. Tears formed in his eyes and the visions finally broke through his defences and took hold of him.

_Dean was on the verge of tears as he stared forwards… _

_Haley put her arms around him, leaning against him, tears in her own eyes… _

_His body rocked for the third time as more electricity ran through it again… _

"_No… no… come on… don't give in…" Dean sobbed…_

"_I'll call it…" The doctor said softly. "Time of death… twelve fifty-three a.m."_

"Sam?" His eyes opened, and with small crashes and bangs Sam hoped didn't make it out of the room, the various objects around the room fell to their original places. Leaning against the wall, it took Sam a minute to realize Haley was knocking on the bathroom door. "Sam, you okay in there?"

"Y… yeah." He managed. "Fine." He said a bit stronger. "I'll… I'll be out in a minute." He only just managed to keep the tremor out of his voice. Slowly, with one hand on his head, teeth clenched and eyes narrowed to slits, he forced himself to his feet.

Stumbling, he made his way to the sink, opening the cabinet above it and, hands shaking, took out a small bottle of pills, taking the cap off and tilting it down, a couple of pills dropping into his hand. He took one deep breath, two, three, and then dropped the pills into his mouth, filling a cup by the sink with water and washing the pill down with it.

His nose wrinkled in distaste as he swallowed them, but he forced them down, eyes opening just a little more. He sorely regretted shattering the mirror earlier in the week; it would've been a relief to be able to see a living, breathing person looking back at him and not the animated corpse he sure felt like.

Breathing slower, relaxing slightly as the pills slowly began to take affect, he closed his eyes against, leaning his head back. The images in his mind played over again and again, along with the aftermath of the migraine that continued to roll around the inside of his skull.

"You weren't kidding." He said softly. There were tears in his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away. Again, he wished the mirror was there; he wanted to make sure he didn't look like he thought he did. So he settled for splashing his face with water, wiping it with a towel, and hoping no one would look too closely. Then, putting a smile on, he opened the door, he exited the bathroom and headed down the hall towards the bedroom her shared with Haley.

"Daddy's back." He said, heading straight for the nursery. Haley looked up from where she was sitting, put a finger to her lips, and nodded toward the sleeping baby in his crib. Sam smiled, and Haley got up, gesturing to the rocking chair. Sam walked over and sat down, and then Haley sat in his lap, leaning her head against his chest.

"This is wonderful, you know?" She said softly. Sam nodded.

"It is." He agreed. He was thankful that his voice didn't betray the pain that was tearing him apart inside.

-;-

**A/N: And just like that, Eye of the Storm ends. Hope this chapter was believable, particularly the way Dean was acting, and the last bit in the bathroom; I was having tons of trouble with the vision. Anyone want to make guesses at what's happening with Sam? And who it was he saw in the vision? Both those questions will be answered in 'Death of Hope' the next part of the Heart of Gold series, which may or may not make it out this year (depending how soon I finish the two fanfics I'm currently working on at the moment).**

**Now, onto the thanks to all my reviewers, in order of appearance:**

**Thanks to Spuffyshipper, The girl with no life, Cardboard Box AKA lil cwick, rockchick900, puplover77, erica222, EmSyd, Ghostwriter, AnimeFan918, FireZombie, The Kiss of Death, The Great and Powerful Oz, Anonymous, Miss Meehan, mollieclarke, Daughter of Ipswich.**

**And a big thanks to mysterychic, for beta-ing the chapters I was active enough to send her.**

**Thank you again to all. Those of you who like crossovers and Buffy, I'm currently writing a fic called Playmates. For those of you who like slash (and aren't bothered by SamDean), my other fic, Forever's Not Enough, will contain SamDean slash where they aren't related. If neither of these appeal to you, just hang in there and I'll do my best with the sequel to Heart of Gold/Eye of the Storm.**

**Until next time, Cyas.**


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